Interstate 35 Gets Facelift from Salado to Fort Worth

IH 35 expands in Bell and Williamson County and undergoes rehab in Johnson County; also, concrete culvert fixes Kingwood collapse.

Concrete Culvert to Replace Collapsed Road in Kingwood

After a May 21 collapse of Kingwood’s River Grove Park in Houston on the park’s only access road created an 8-ft deep sinkhole, Irving-based Hanson Pipe & Precast put a team in action as part of the Hanson Emergency Maintenance partnership.

The collapse of the only access road to Kingwood’s River Grove Park stranded more than 50 vehicles and boats. The city tapped Hanson Pipe & Precast to provide a concrete box culvert to rebuild the road.

The sinkhole immediately stranded more than 50 vehicles and boats. After floodwaters receded, crushed concrete provided a makeshift bridge to allow visitors to retrieve their vehicles before work began to restore the road and make the drainage system safe and reliable.

Hanson Pipe & Precast was called on by the city to provide a four-barrel run of 8-ft by 6-ft concrete box culvert to help rebuild Kingwood’s River Grove Park’s access road. The new box culvert is replacing four 60-in. corrugated metal pipes that typically have a life expectancy of 25 years, while concrete structures are engineered to last a lifetime, Clifford Hahne, senior vice president of Hanson Building Projects, told Texas Construction.

The new structure was needed after heavy rains and rotting tin culverts allowed a stream to flow beneath the road causing the ground’s collapse.

“This can happen during heavy rains when steel pipe is eroded. It is not a common event, but we’ve done three this year replacing two plastic and one steel,” Hahne says. “Normally, the city sees it coming and replaces it before a catastrophe occurs.”

Hanson’s box culverts are created with a steel cage encased in concrete that supports the load. The thickness of the concrete depends on specs of the project, he said.

“Challenges to projects such as this are when there is an failure for the city. That is unscheduled, so we are asked to expedite the design and implementation,” Hahne adds. “In this case, the city had to reroute the waterway and put the culvert in and fill it over.”

Throughout the country, metal box culverts fail in a short amount of time in a couple of ways, Hahne says. This one failed because it was rusted and then the water ate the material around it causing the road to collapse, he says.

“They float under severe flooding conditions and take roadways out that way. The metal inside concrete won’t deteriorate or rust. The only reason ours are replaced is if they need water flow or are moving a roadway,” he says. “When they put a concrete culvert under a bridge, it doesn’t float because it is a permanent structure. Even if water goes over the bridge, it can’t erode the pipe. Our products are more permanent while metal pipes have shorter life span under 20 years.”

“It is unfortunate that cities use these products without a good life cycle to save money because this could have been devastating had a car been on the bridge,” Hahne says. “Safety and long-term life are obviously safer and better even if they are a little more expensive.”

Traffic Pattern, Ramp Changes Part of IH-35 Bell County Expansion

Another phase of the $81.4-million Interstate Highway 35 expansion, which began in December 2006, to reconstruct and widen the existing main lanes was under way earlier this summer with the switch of southbound main lane traffic to the newly constructed travel lanes.

The work finalizes the construction of the new access to the safety rest area within the expansion project area south of Salado.

The overall project will widen the roadway from four lanes to six lanes and provide a concrete traffic barrier between northbound and southbound traffic from the Bell/Williamson County line to FM 2268, south of Salado. Additionally, frontage roads are being relocated and widened as well as changed from two-way to one-way operation within the project area.

The traffic switch included the temporary closure of the southbound Safety Rest Area at exit 282A the exit at 280 (Prairie Dell) and the permanent closure of the exit at 282B (FM 2115).

The FM 2115 exit ramp will be permanently closed and replaced with an on-ramp. Traffic for FM 2115 will exit at 283 (Holland).

SH 31 $56-Million Reconstruction Project Under Way

A road widening project reconstructing a portion of State Highway 31 in eastern McLennan and southeastern Hill County began in early summer.

The project includes the widening of the existing two-lane roadway to a four-lane facility with depressed median from the SH 31-US 84 Split, east of Bellmead in McLennan County to approximately two miles east of Mount Calm in Hill County.

Two new overpasses, one at FM 1330 in McLennan County and one at FM 339 north of Mount Calm will also be constructed. Additionally, the project will create a bypass north of the downtown area of Mount Calm.

The 14.5-mi reconstruction project is led by J. C. Evans Construction Co. of Leander at a cost of $55.7 million. It is scheduled for completion in late summer 2012.

Commission Awards $43 Million in Public Transit Funding Statewide

State transportation officials approved close to $43 million to support public transportation by funding transportation operating and capital projects; public transportation planning; development; and research for small urban and rural transit agencies, intercity bus operators, numerous other transit systems and Metropolitan Planning Organizations across the state.

Commission action approved more than $40 million in federal grants from the Federal Transit Administration, $2.8 million in transportation development credits, or TDCs, and state match dollars for the state of Texas.

Of that, $7.6 million of rural federal funds will assist transit agencies as they continue to deal with increases in operating expenses and the growing demand for more service.

About $6.8 million of planning federal funds and $1.4 million of TDC match was allocated to statewide Metropolitan Planning Organizations for public transportation planning that will improve transit service in urban areas. Included was $5.1 million of federal funds and $549,180 of TDC for transit projects aimed at serving elderly individuals and individuals with disabilities.

Another $20.4 million and $875,594 of TDC for various transit programs will provide transit service to individuals for job training and work, improve access to existing public transportation services for the disabled, and enhance intercity service connections between cities and rural areas.

In a continuing commitment to assist transit agencies as they struggle to obtain required local match funds for federal awards, the Commission took special note in the award of TDC as an innovative financing option for those areas with limited to no local resources.

$37-Million U.S. 380 Expansion Begins in Wise County

The widening of U.S. 380 in Decatur and Wise County began this summer after the Texas Department of Transportation awarded the $37-million project to J.D. Abrams LP of Austin.

The 10.5-mi project will begin at Business 380 in Decatur and end at the Denton/Wise County line. The project will reconstruct the two-lane highway to a four-lane divided highway. Crews will begin work on the west end of the project and move east. Because of the a project’s size and scope, work will occur in multiple locations at different times.

The project is scheduled to be complete in fall 2011. It is being funded by the Proposition 14 bond program, which authorizes TxDOT to borrow money on a short-term basis to improve cash flow and cash management and to issue general obligation bonds secured by the State Highway Fund. The bonds are repaid with money from the State Highway Fund including motor fuels taxes and vehicle registration fees.

Worked Started on $28-Million Loop 250 Interchanges in Midland

Reece Albert Inc., based in Midland-San Angelo, began work this summer on the $28- million East Loop 250 interchanges at Business IH-20 and IH-20.

Odessa-based Jones Bros. Dirt and Paving Contractors, a subcontractor for the project, began dirt work to prepare the initial detours for service road traffic and Reece Albert began work on drill shafts for the overpass at BI-20 which will span Business 20 and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks just south of where the frontage roads of East Loop 250 currently terminate at Business 20.

The job is scheduled to take 690 working days. The interchange at Interstate 20, near Midland County Road 1130, will feature a pair of bridges that take interstate traffic over East Loop 250. Traffic on IH-20 will begin to be affected in early 2010.

The walls of the interstate embankments will feature symbols of two ubiquitous area features - pumpjacks representing the oil industry and cotton bolls representing area agricultural activity. In addition, there will be an obelisk at each end of the overpass bridges on the interstate.

Toll 49 Drives on With $38 Million Award from Stimulus Funding

With a jolt from stimulus money presented to the state, the go-ahead was giving by the Texas Department of Transportation with a construction contract for Segment 3A of Toll 49 awarded to Longview Bridge and Road Ltd. of Longview for $37.9 million - $15 million less than TxDOT anticipated during planning.

In March, the project got a boost from funding allocated by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, commonly known as the stimulus act or ARRA. Now that the project has been awarded at $37.9 million, the $15 million in cost underrun will be applied to other stimulus projects, some in East Texas or elsewhere in the state.

Segment 3A of Toll 49, approximately six mi in length, will extend the existing portions of Toll 49 west from State Highway 155 and connect to SH 31 west of Tyler. Construction is scheduled to begin later this summer or early fall and should take approximately three years to complete.

It was the same infusion of federal stimulus funding that jump-started the North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority’s discussions on bringing in additional money through bonds to design and build Segment 3B, a 10-mi segment which would pick up where Segment 3A ends at State Highway 31 and connect with IH-20.

In addition to Segments 3A and 3B, the northern-most segment of Toll 49, also known as the Lindale Relief Route, a 6.7-mi stretch between IH-20 and U.S. 69 north of Lindale, is awaiting final environmental clearances, scheduled to come sometime in the next year.

Segment One of Toll 49, between U.S. 69 and State Highway 155, was opened to traffic in August 2006, followed by Segment Two, from U.S. 69 to FM 756 (Paluxy Drive) in December of 2007.

In addition to the stimulus money applied to Toll 49, the Tyler District received additional funding and approval to begin nine other projects in East Texas, bringing the total funding allocated from the ARRA to the Tyler District to more than $50 million.

Johnson County IH-35W Rehabilitation Project Under Way

Rehabilitation road work began in June on Interstate 35W in Johnson County from the Tarrant County line to County Road 604 as crews began nightly lane closures during the first phase of the project to allow the contractor to make concrete repairs. As the project progressed, daily lane closures were implemented.

The 9.3-mi project includes repairs to the existing pavement, improving drainage and a new pavement overlay. The $5.5-million project was awarded to Lindsay Contractors of Waco.

The project is slated for a March completion.