Texas Interstates Tagged ‘Corridors of the Future’

Also, multi-million highway and bridge improvement projects slated from the Gulf Coast to the Metroplex to El Paso.

IH-69, IH-10 Named ‘Corridors of the Future’ by U.S. DOT

Texas has segments of two Interstate highways that are part of only six routes to be selected for a new federal program to develop multi-state corridors. 

Interstate 69 from Texas to Michigan and Interstate 10 from California to Florida were selected by the U.S. Department of Transportation as part of its “Corridors of the Future” program, which the USDOT says is aimed at developing innovative national and regional approaches to reduce congestion and improve efficiency of freight delivery.

The Texas segment of IH-69 is being developed as part of the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC-69) and extends from Northeast Texas to Mexico. The goal of TTC-69 is to increase mobility, safety and economic development opportunities through a multi-use transportation system that includes roads, rail and utilities.

Preliminary studies indicate that in 2015, the daily travel demand on IH-69 between Texas and Michigan will be approximately 23 million vehicle miles, with trucks being one of every four vehicles. The USDOT is offering $800,000 – divided between Texas and seven other states – to be used for an IH-69 innovative financing study.

Estimated cost of the multi-state project is $17 billion. The Texas segment accounts for $6 billion of that estimate. Texas is also eligible to split $8.6 million with seven other states to reduce congestion on IH-10 from California to Florida. Final agreements are expected to be signed by next spring between the states and the Federal Highway Administration.

State’s First Private Sector Pass-Through Financing Set for El Paso

The state’s first ever private-sector pass-through financing agreement to accelerate transportation improvements will occur in El Paso. Texas transportation officials signed an agreement with Austin-based J.D. Abrams to finance, design and build the El Paso Spur 601 (Inner Loop project) which will connect US 54 to the Purple Heart Memorial Highway (Loop 375). The cost of the project is $367 million.

The project is considered crucial to a Pentagon plan to bring more than 50,000 soldiers and family members to Fort Bliss and El Paso. The new highway is expected to handle traffic from military and residential construction at Biggs Army Airfield, as well as the increasing Northeast El Paso traffic.

Construction begins this fall on the 7-mi project, slated for completion in about three years. Part of the new road will be elevated, allowing motorists to enter and leave Biggs without having to navigate the traffic lights at Fred Wilson and Airport Roads.

Drivers will not pay any tolls since the pass through financing will repay the bond debt. The department will put $45 million of traditional highway construction funds along with $10 million from the international airport into the project up front. J.D. Abrams will finance the remainder of the project and will be reimbursed $312,450,00 over time based on the volume of public usage of the highway.

Pass-through financing allows local municipalities or private entities to pay for up-front costs to build a transportation project and get reimbursed later from the state as the improvements are used by motorists.

While the state has signed several such agreements with local governmental entities around the state, the El Paso agreement is the first with a private partner in the United States.

$175 Million Widening Project Awarded for IH-45 in Conroe

The Texas Transportation Commission has awarded a contract for the expansion IH-45, doubling the number of lanes through Conroe between North and South Loop 336. This is the largest contract awarded by TxDOT in Montgomery County. In addition to adding four lanes of highway through Conroe, the project will construct continuous frontage roads both north- and southbound and reconfigure the entry and exit ramps between Wilson Road and Texas 105. An important part of this project will reverse the Gladstell overpass; following construction, IH-45 will cross over Gladstell.

The $175.5 million contract was awarded to Williams Brothers Construction Co. of Houston. This project will widen the present four-lane freeway to eight lanes from the South Loop 336 to the North Loop 336, a distance of 4.4 mi. There will be provisions made for future managed use lanes and TMS, the camera system that will allow Houston TranStar to monitor traffic speed and conditions. Information on traffic condition will be available throughout the Houston metropolitan area once the system is in place.

IH-45-North in Montgomery County will be widened eight and 10 lanes from the Harris County line to River Plantation Drive, just south of Conroe. Construction is expected to last about four years. 

$143.8 Million Arlington Bridge Project Set to Start

The second project for the IH-30/Three Bridges project in the Arlington area was awarded to W.W. Webber LLC of Houston for $143.8 million. The mobility project, selected for funding by the Regional Transportation Council, will begin before the end of the year.

To expedite the work, incentives are in place for significant completion on the Baird Farm Road Bridge by May 2009 and completion of the Three Bridges section within three years of starting construction.

Although this mobility project was not planned to be complete by the Dallas Cowboys’ 2009 season, the contractor incentives will provide additional access at Baird Farm Road during construction and ultimately will provide improved mobility to motorists who drive IH-30 sooner.

Among the work included in this project is the rebuilding of the Collins Street Bridge, building a new bridge at Baird Farm Road, the reconstruction of the main lanes from Cooper Street to Ballpark Way and the extension of managed lanes from the Tarrant/Dallas County lines to Ballpark Way.

The first IH-30/Three Bridges project is the new $18.6 million Center Street Bridge and Center Street realignment that is currently under construction. Construction began in June, and its estimated completion is fall 2008. Both of the IH-30/Three Bridges projects involve a cooperative partnership with the city of Arlington.

Improvements to Terrell’s SH 34 Get Thumbs Up

Planned improvements to State Highway 34 in Terrell, from Airport Road to High Street, have received environmental clearance from the Federal Highway Administration.

The clearance allows the state to advance the project into final engineering and to begin property acquisition negotiations which would offer motorists a vital transportation improvement to a congested roadway in Kaufman County.

TxDOT obtained a “Finding of No Significant Impact” from the FHWA in August. The approved FONSI was based on an environmental assessment submitted by TxDOT that was independently evaluated by the FHWA and determined to “adequately and accurately discuss the environmental issues and impacts of the proposed project.’’

SH 34 is to be relocated from its current location to a new location approximately 0.10 mi to the east. The project would be a four-lane divided urban thoroughfare consisting of a curb, gutter, storm sewer and two 12-ft wide lanes in each direction, a raised 16-ft median and 6-ft-wide sidewalks.

Additional improvements would be made to Airport Road for approximately 0.29 mi at its intersection with the proposed new SH 34 alignment. The intersection would be built with dedicated left-turn lanes for an overall estimated cost of more than $11 million. The project funding is 80% federal and 20% state. The SH 34 project is 1.036 mi long and is tentatively scheduled for construction in spring 2009.

Two New Bridges Under Construction on Royse City’s FM 35

Farm-to-Market 35 closed in August, detouring motorists due to closure on the Rockwall County roadway from Old Greenville Road to FM 2453 to build new bridges at Sabine Creek and its relief in Royse City

The project involves building new bridges eight ft higher than the existing structures to avoid flooding and widening the roadway to two 12-ft lanes. The two bridges at Sabine Creek and its relief will be a combined 800 feet long. Approaches to and from the new structures add 1,360 ft to the project for a total length of 0.409 mi.

The $3.1 million project is being built by Concho Construction Co. of Garland. Work began in August and is anticipated for a spring completion.

New Bridge Construction Closes Dallas Road Next Year

Mountain Creek Parkway from Spur 408 to Merrifield Road in the Dallas area is closed for the next year as TxDOT builds a new bridge and widens the existing roadway from two lanes to four.

The $28.6 million project from Grady Niblo Road to Spur 408, a distance of 3.9 mi, has been under construction by Houston-based Texas Sterling Construction since May. TxDOT anticipates opening the new facility December 2010.

Denton County’s FM 544 Widened to Six Lanes

TxDOT plans to expand FM 544 into a six-lane divided principal arterial with a raised median from FM 2281 to Dozier Road in Denton County.

Currently the rural, two-lane, undivided highway runs through the cities of Lewisville, Carrollton and Hebron carrying approximately 8,400 vehicles per day. Local officials expect it to jump to 15,100 vehicles by 2027.

TxDOT’s plans also include a 360-ft long and 114-ft wide bridge approximately 350 ft northwest of the existing bridge over the Kansas City Southern Railroad. The 3.2-mi project is an estimated $22.4 million, paid with 80% federal and 20% local funding. Construction is anticipated to begin in early 2008.

Major Thoroughfare in Westlake-Keller May Begin in ’08

Work could begin next year to extend Farm-to-Market (FM) Road 1938 from FM 1709 to SH 114 along the existing routes of Randol Mill Road and Precinct Line Road in Tarrant County.

The FM 1938 extension will be a four to six-lane divided highway. The 4-mi project will be divided into two phases of construction, with the first segment from SH 114 to the Westlake/Keller city limits estimated for letting in fall 2008 for approximately $15 million. The second segment would complete the project from the Westlake/Keller city limits to FM 1709. It is estimated for letting in 2011 for approximately $17 million.

SH 44 Rehabilitation Project Begins Second Phase

E. E. Hood and Sons Inc. of Von Ormy began road rehabilitation work on SH 44 in Webb County from the Webb/La Salle County line to 11.66 mi east. The project entails grading of the existing pavement, and placement of base materials, structures, surfacing, culvert end treatments and the addition of signs and pavement markings.

The cost of phase II is $4 million with completion expected by spring 2008.

This phase II project complements the first phase, a SH 44 $7.5 million rehabilitation project that started in June from 18 miles west of the Webb/Duval County line to the Webb County/Duval County line. The phase SH 44 project is currently under construction by Bay Limited Construction Co. of Corpus Christi.

San Antonio’s U.S. 281 Project May Move Forward

The proposed construction of an expressway on the U.S. 281 corridor from Loop 1604 to Borgfeld Road in Bexar County will proceed at a higher cost than originally believed when the project was started in 2005.

The Metropolitan Planning Organization does not have sufficient tax dollars to implement the U.S. 281 corridor and tolls on the new added lanes.

To generate funds, toll lanes will be added to the project, however, the only lanes being tolled on this section of U.S. 281 are the new lanes that will be added as part of the improvement project. Drivers will still have access to the same number of free lanes. Upon full build-out, drivers may have access to even more free lanes than they do currently.

The project started in 2005 was competitively bid at a cost of $80 million and would have included construction of the expressway section from Sonterra Drive to Stone Oak Drive. Due to inflation, that first phase project that was stopped by legal challenges is now expected to cost approximately $100 million.

The first phase was to be followed by expansions and ending with the construction of direct connectors at Loop 1604. The estimated cost of all needed improvements on the US 281 corridor is approximately $600 million.

The Alamo Regional Mobility Authority has indicated that it wishes to develop the U.S. 281 corridor.