Balfour Beatty Wins $746M I-35 Capital Express Contract

1The Texas Dept. of Transportation has awarded a $746-million contract to British-based Balfour Beatty to construct 2.5 miles of its Interstate 35 Capital Express Central project.

This section of I-35’s upgrade will start south of downtown Austin during the first half of 2025 and be completed by 2033. Known as the Lady Bird Lake segment, it will reconstruct a bridge over the 417-acre Lady Bird Lake, add two high-occupancy-vehicle management lanes in each direction, build an interchange for access to future light rail routes, build a walkers-only bridge and enhance bike and walking paths.

Balfour Beatty said in a release that the nearly 60-year-old bridge will be constructed from a barge as it will require “complex engineering and marine expertise.” Mark Johnnie, the firm’s U.S. civil chief operating officer, said the company will bring in “specialized overwater bridge replacement capabilities.”

At its peak, the project will employ around 150 people. Divided into six segments with construction extending into the middle 2030s, the project promises to ease congestion on a roadway traveled by roughly 200,000 vehicles daily.

When completed, parts of the interstate will include more than 20 lanes. When the project is completed in the middle of the next decade, improvements will include removing the current I-35 decks, thus lowering the roadway, as well as adding to non-tolled HOV-managed lanes in each direction. Also part of the current plan is building east-west cross-street bridges and pedestrian and bicycle paths.

Opposing the plan is Rethink35, which is arguing that more cars on the road will worsen the city’s air quality and that the health of people with lung and heart disease, diabetes, the elderly and children will be negatively affected by the expanded interstate. One of the group’s proposals is for the state to buy out the SH-130 tollway, which they say is underutilized.

TxDOT said its environmental impact studies from August 2023 didn’t find the completed project would increase pollution or health issues along the interstate.

By Daniel Tyson

Archer Western Picked for $50M Renewable Natural Gas Plant in San Antonio

Archer Western Construction will construct a waste-to-energy facility for Synthica Energy in San Antonio with the capacity to process up to 250,000 tons of industrial organic waste into renewable natural gas (RNG) annually.

Announcing its limited notice to proceed from San Antonio, Archer Western says it was initially selected to provide preliminary services support, including design and constructibility review, cost estimating, value engineering, evaluation of alternative construction means and methods, procurement support and construction schedule optimization.

Synthica’s San Antonio facility will process pre-consumer food and industrial organic waste via anaerobic digestion treatment processes, generating biogas to be further upgraded into RNG. Utilizing up to 250,000 tons of waste, the company projects creating 400,000 MMBtu (million British thermal units) of pipeline-quality RNG each year.

The facility will accept products like expired and damaged produce, by-products from biodiesel production, spent yeast and high-strength wastewater. The $50-million project is set to break ground this year and begin production in the first quarter of 2026.

RNG produced at the facility will be injected into a nearby pipeline, displacing the use of fossil fuels, according to Archer Western’s announcement.

Synthica is also developing a $50-million project in Atlanta that broke ground earlier this month that also is expected to accept 250,000 tons of waste per year for an output of 400,000 MMBtu of RNG. That facility is set to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Craig Thompson, technical project director for Synthica, says in a release that Archer Western helped the company make crucial design decisions and maximize project value throughout the pre-construction phase.

“Their exceptional experience in the water/wastewater sector and superior foothold in the San Antonio market made them the ideal partner for us on this project,” he says.

By Derek Lacey

S70M Renovation of UT Tower Set to Start

The project’s first phase will focus on the UT tower’s exterior, including restoring the stone, windows, lighting, clockface and historical gilding on its exterior, according to the university.
Photo courtesy of the University of Texas

A project team led by contractor SpawGlass will begin a $70-million renovation of the University of Texas’ 27-story tower, the centerpiece of the flagship university in Austin.

Architectural firm Robert A.M. Stern Architects is leading the project’s design. Construction is scheduled to begin in November.

According to the university, the renovation of the nearly 90-year-old tower will be a multiyear effort to restore, revitalize and reimagine the 27-story structure. The first phase, restoring the tower’s exterior, is scheduled to be completed by summer 2027. This phase includes restoring the tower’s stone, windows, lighting, clock face and historical gilding on its exterior.

The renovation also includes repainting metal and wooden surfaces their original color, reapplying gilding to its clock and cast-iron spandrels and rebuilding east and west entrances. An LED-based lighting system will be placed on the roof and energy-efficient windows will be installed. Plans also call for revitalizing key interior spaces for new uses for students and staff.

This will be the first-ever renovation of the tower, which was completed in 1937. The exterior shows rusty windows, flaking paint and grime on the limestone, while inside, workers complain about lack of hot water and frequent elevator outages.

After the tower’s renovation is complete, Kevin P. Eltife, chair of the University of Texas Board of Regents, said, “We want that tower to be picture perfect, restored to its original beauty.”

From the beginning, the University of Texas Austin had towering aspirations for the structure. The tower was designed by renowned architect Paul Cret, and construction began in 1934 with W.S. Bellows Construction Co. serving as general contractor. Cret’s original plans called for only 11 floors, but with additional funding from the Works Progress Administration, the university opted to go beyond Cret’s original plans.

The renovation’s original cost, which was estimated at $50 million, increased due to rising construction costs, according to the university.

By Daniel Tyson