Galveston’s New Hurricane Evacuation Route for Galveston

Austin Bridge & Road was awarded the $17.5 million contract for a new hurricane route in Galveston by the Texas Transportation Commission. The project will entail building a new two-lane bridge on SH 146 in Galveston County as part of the hurricane evacuation routes and federal demonstration project.

A significant feature of the project will be the construction of a temporary trestle-type bridge from which the construction of the new structure can be accomplished with minimum disturbance to the delicate wetlands and environment of the location.

SH 146 serves as an important hurricane evacuation route for the area. The new bridge addition will improve the flow of traffic on SH 146. Once construction is complete, the SH 146 southbound traffic will be placed on the new bridge while northbound traffic will use the existing bridge.

The community and traveling public will be affected with sections of single-lane closures during nonpeak daytime hours. Construction begins this month and is expected to be completed in June 2009. Austin Bridge & Road has offices in Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth.

Large Truck Restrictions on Parts of I-35

The Texas Transportation Commission approved a left-lane restriction for large trucks on portions of Interstate 35 in Bexar, Guadalupe, Comal and Hays counties. The restrictions prohibit truck tractors with three or more axles from operating in the inside left lane from just south of Loop 1604 in the city of Live Oak northward to the southern city limits of San Marcos.

TxDOT worked closely with local jurisdictions along the route to develop the lane restriction and conducted a traffic study, which concluded it would be beneficial to both safety and general mobility to implement such a restriction. Studies show that similar restrictions result in a decrease in traffic crashes and also provide for a smoother and more consistent flow of traffic.

This action now implements truck lane restrictions on IH-35 from north of San Antonio to north of Georgetown. Large trucks are still allowed to travel in the left lane for passing another vehicle or when entering or exiting the highway. The restriction will be in effect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

TxDOT also unveiled new truck lane restriction signs along IH-35 from the Live Oak city limits to the Comal/Hays county line. Levy Co., Detroit,  is the contractor for this project and began placement of 60 signs.

The $30,000 project will prohibit truck tractors with three or more axles from using the left or inside lane 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but would allow the operation of those vehicles in a prohibited traffic lane for the purpose of passing another vehicle, entering or exiting the highway.

Statistics have shown that from San Marcos to Live Oak, the average daily traffic volume is 94,800. Of that volume, 17 percent are trucks.

With the launch of SmoothPavements.com, the Transtec Group provides transportation agencies, contractors and the paving industry with a source of information on pavement smoothness specifications in the U.S. 

The SmoothPavements.com Web site explains why pavement smoothness specifications are important; stays up to date with national trends in smoothness specifications; describes AASHTO specifications for ride quality; details which smoothness testing devices are specified by state highway agencies; and explains how FHWA’s ProVAL software can help with pavement smoothness specifications and profile analysis.

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority opened the $238 million
183A toll road in Cedar Park and Leander. The toll road is an 11.6-mi roadway that extends from U.S. 183 at RM 620 to U.S. 183 north of Leander.  

Tolls were waived for all drivers until May 1. TxTag customers will receive an extra month of free travel during May. Regular toll rates for all customers will take effect July 1. After July 1, TxTag customers will receive a 10 percent discount.

The Transportation Commission approved a Comprehensive Development Agreement with Cintra Concessiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte  Spain, that will provide more than $5 billion for State Highway 121 and other transportation projects in North Texas.

The agreement will bring completion of the SH 121 project by 2011 – a quarter century faster than would have been possible with traditional gasoline tax revenue.

Three firms have been competing for the project since last summer. TxDOT evaluated the proposals, using criteria developed by the Metroplex’s Regional Transportation Council, basing 80 percent of the score on price, 10 percent on scheduling and 10 percent on technical expertise.

The agreement with Cintra, a joint venture with a fund advised by JPMorgan Asset Management, is expected to close this summer. It will bring North Texas a $2.1 billion concession payment plus $560 million for design and construction of SH 121 in Denton and Collins counties. In addition, Cintra will pay $700 million in lease payments over the next 49 years as well as $1.7 billion for operation and maintenance of the toll road.

The Collin County segment of SH 121 should be finished by fall 2009, with an interchange at U.S. 75 completed a year later, followed by an interchange with the Dallas North Tollway by 2011.

A milestone was reached in the SH 130 project earlier this year when crews began placement of steel girders at the SH 130/SH 71 interchange near Austin Bergstrom International Airport. The interchange includes one of the longest bridges in the SH 130 project.

The eastbound-to-northbound direct connector at the interchange will stand 86 ft above ground and is constructed with prestressed concrete girders and steel plate girders. The steel girders at the intersection are among the longest in the project with some measuring more than 205 ft in length. The longest concrete span is 126 ft. SH 130 Segment 3 is on schedule for completion in September.

Sterling Construction Co. Inc., Houston, was selected as the low bidder on a $31.8 million Texas Department of Transportation job in Tarrant County, northwest of Fort Worth. The project, which is near State Highway 199, involves concrete paving, feeder road reconstruction, installation of a major storm sewer system and the construction of a bridge. Plans call for work to begin in May and continue into fall 2009.

Sterling is a heavy civil construction company specializing in the building and reconstruction of transportation and water infrastructure in large and growing markets in Texas.

The Texas Transportation Commission has awarded a $2.2 million contract for multiple improvement projects on SH 146, FM 521 and BW 8 in southern Harris County to Angel Brothers Enterprises, Inc. , Baytown.

The first project is located on SH 146 south of NASA Road 1 to north of Red Bluff Road in Seabrook. This 2-mi section of roadway will be improved with an asphalt overlay as preventive maintenance to preserve the condition of the existing pavement.

The second project consists of adding a continuous center left-turn lane on FM 521 from Buffalo Speedway to FM 2234 (McHard Road) in Pearland. This .5-mi stretch of roadway will be restriped with a new center turn lane.

The last project in this contract is an asphalt overlay of the access ramps on BW 8 from west of Mykawa Road to Old SH 35 (Telephone Road). The 1-mi section is located between SH 288 and IH 45, north of Pearland.

Construction began in April and is expected to be completed in August.

Texas Transportation Commission official gave approval for execution of a $75 million pass-through funding agreement with Val Verde County to construct a relief route for U.S. 277 in Del Rio/Val Verde County. 

It is the first innovative financing project of its kind in the TxDOT Laredo District.

The project will be constructed east of Del Rio from FM 2523 to U.S. 90 to U.S. 277. The TxDOT Laredo District oversees highway construction, roadway maintenance and innovative financing transportation projects in Webb, Duval, La Salle, Dimmit Zavala, Maverick, Kinney and Val Verde counties.

Pass-through financing is a new tool created to allow local communities to fund upfront costs that the state will reimburse for building a state transportation project. Reimbursement is based on the number of vehicles traveling on a facility or vehicle-mile-traveled fee.