July TxDOT Highway Letting Dates

The Texas Department of Transportation has scheduled its next highway letting for July 7 and 8. Seventy-one projects are approved to be let with an estimated total of $330,463,597.

A TxDOT report said projects may be added, advanced or delayed as deemed necessary.

Granite, J.D. Abrams Team up on New Toll Road

Granite Construction Co. was recently awarded a joint venture with Austin-based J.D. Abrams LP for a $178 million design-build toll road project in the Austin area. Granite's portion of the contract, awarded by the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is 70 percent or approximately $124.8 million. URS Corp. of San Francisco will serve as lead designer on the project. The joint venture team will operate as Hill Country Constructors.

The 11.6-mi. project requires the design and construction of main lanes, frontage roads and approximately 20 bridges. Project scope includes retaining walls, 1.9 million cu. yds. of excavation, 1.3 million cu. yds. of embankment, concrete paving, ashalt paving, illumination, signing, toll plazas, administration buildings, landscaping and striping.

Estimated completion date for the project is May 2007.

TxDOT and Harris County Toll Road Authority Open New Ramps

TxDOT recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony symbolizing the removal of the last barriers to the third and final ramp constructed as part of a project connecting Texas 249 and the Sam Houston Tollway North.

Top officials attending the ceremony included State Senator Jon Lindsay, president of the North Houston Association, TxDOT district engineer Gary K. Trietsch, Harris County officials and Harris County Toll Road Authority executive director Art Storey and director Mike Strech.

The $27.3 million project constructed three single-lane direct connecting ramps between the Sam Houston Tollway and Texas 249. The first direct connecting ramp from Beltway 8-North eastbound to Texas 249 northbound opened earlier this year.

The new ramps enable motorists with a Harris County Toll Road Authority E-Z Tag traveling to and/or from the Tomball/Willowbrook Mall area to directly access the Sam Houston Tollway.

Also celebrating the completion of the new ramps were representatives of the Cy-Fair Chamber of Commerce, the North Houston Association, the Northwest Chamber of Commerce and Williams Brothers Construction Co. of Houston, the general contractor.

New Ramp Open on High Five

The Dallas High Five has a new entrance ramp open on U.S. 75. Located south of LBJ Freeway, the entrance ramp opened from the northbound U.S. 75 frontage road to the northbound U.S. 75 main freeway lanes.

Along with the entrance ramp, a northbound two-lane exit ramp also recently opened. The outside freeway lane provides the two-lane exit ramp, which will connect to the LBJ Freeway direct connection ramps.

PB Gets TxDOT Task Order Contract in Tyler District

TxDOT has awarded a task order contract to Parsons Brinckerhoff, headquartered in New York, for a variety of civil engineering services in support of transportation projects in the TxDOT Tyler District.

Under the contract, PB will perform project management, and civil and structural design for projects such as highway and railroad bridge replacements, hydraulic studies for bridges and highway and roadway reconstruction. The firm will deliver final design plans, specs and cost estimates for designated projects and may also provide construction support services.

Projects already under way include five on-system bridge replacements, schematic development and plans, specifications and estimates for Loop 323 to replace a railroad bridge and a hydraulic study of bridge openings on State Highway 31.

Shaw Awarded Clean Fuels Project

The Shaw Group Inc., based in Baton Rouge, La., recently announced that its subsidiary, Stone and Webster Inc., was awarded an engineering, procurement and construction project by Valero Refining - Texas LLP, a subsidiary of San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corp., for the equipment and facilities at the Valero Houston Refinery.

The purpose is to produce ultra-low sulfur diesel for the transportation fuel market that will meet the new low-sulfur regulations. Shaw has already begun providing engineering and procurement services and the project is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2006.