TxDOT, Contractors Make Big Moves on I-35
The heavily traveled Interstate-35 corridor is infamous for areas of congestion; fortunately, for motorists and contractors, significant highway funding is speeding along to bring needed relief. Under current plans, the Texas Dept. of Transportation (TxDOT) is investing more than $1 billion to widen the interstate—with more than a half billion in work under way and nearly $400 million in projects scheduled to bid this fall. The agency, which has at least another $500 million in additional work on the horizon and more in planning, has launched unprecedented outreach programs to shape the future expansion of the corridor.
After nearly five decades, I-35 needs a makeover. Calls to expand the roadway to a minimum of three lanes in each direction gained traction in the 1990s as congestion concerns rose following passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement. “Since the early 1980s we have known the traffic on I-35 between Laredo, where Texas and Mexico come together, and Gainesville, north of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, has seen a tremendous growth in traffic related to trade and commerce, not only for Texas but for the entire U.S.,” says John Barton, TxDOT interim deputy executive director and assistant executive director for engineering operations in Austin.
For the latest round of projects, TxDOT is drawing largely from funding derived from a combination of bonds and federal stimulus money. The $3-billion Proposition-12 bond initiative, which passed in 2007, includes about $500 million for I-35 projects. The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) contributed about $200 million to the effort.
The primary focus for current construction is Central Texas and the Waco area. Although its plans are big, TxDOT split up the work into projects of various sizes that benefit a variety of contractors, says Barton. Current projects are estimated to range from $70 million to $150 million. With extensive subcontracting, there are numerous additional opportunities for smaller companies, he adds.
‘MY 35’
Just as the highway system is expanding, TxDOT is also broadening its approach to project planning. Key among the agency's new initiatives is “MY 35,” a comprehensive plan to glean the public's view of how to shape the interstate, with a goal of creating a blueprint for expansion and improvement. TxDOT calls MY 35 “a different approach to transportation planning that gets local decision makers involved early.”
Public opinion is particularly important given that roughly 85% of the state's population lives within 50 miles of I-35, Barton estimates. TxDOT reached out to communities along the corridor and formed groups to help the agency look at the future of both highway and rail improvements.
“As we rebuild this facility to address our current demands, [TxDOT is asking] what will we need to be doing in the year 2050?” Barton says. “The MY 35 initiative helps the department do a better job of information sharing and lessons learned.”
Engineers from agency districts have worked on the projects, lending their engineering and construction management expertise. “They are bringing to the table knowledge and skills they have acquired over the years working on projects similar to these, and they are learning from the experiences gained by each of the design teams working on independent projects along I-35,” Barton says. “We have indoctrinated a lessons- learned sharing practice across the state.”
Engineers meet monthly to discuss what they have discovered, with a particular emphasis on managing construction and traffic flow challenges along the interstate corridor. For instance, to minimize disruptions to traffic during rebuilding, TxDOT is using expedited bridge building techniques, such as prefabricating columns and erecting them overnight.
“On this project a lot of the new overpass structures are being built with those prefabricated components to help accelerate construction and reduce the impact on traffic,” Barton says.
What’s working in Waco
In the current round of projects, TxDOT's Waco District is the hub of activity. James Construction Group of Belton, Texas, is expanding eight miles of road from Salado to Belton, a $106.7-million project. The company also is working on a $123-million, 6.4-mile section north of Temple and a $90-million, 3.4-mile section through Salado.
Houston-based contractor Webber is working on three I-35 contracts: a $36.8-million, 5.5-mile section north of Abbott, won in July 2010; a $100.9-million award won in February to build an 8-mile section from West to Abbott; and an $88.4-million, 3.4-mile section south of Waco that is using precast concrete beams.
Williams Brothers Construction Co. of Houston is adding lanes to a 13.4-mile section north of Waco as part of a $166.8-million contract.
Coming up, TxDOT is set to award a 9.8-mile section and a 9.6-mile section this fall. Two projects, one 5.9 miles long and another that is 7.9 miles in length, remain unfunded in the district. A new I-35 bridge spanning the Brazos River will use an “extradosed” design, not used before in Texas but common in Europe.
“The city of Waco wanted something different than the normal slab-and-deck bridges we install,” says Greg Malatek, Waco District department director, noting that the unique bridge is similar in cost to the district's typical bridges.
The two 620-ft-long, three-lane bridges, designed by AECOM's San Antonio office, will include steel beams working in conjunction with pylons anchored by shallow-angled cables that will carry between 20% and 30% of the bridge load. “The cables create a compression force that helps support the deck,” says Alanna Bettis, TxDOT design and project development engineer. “You are balancing the loading between the supporting superstructure—which would be the beams and the girders—and the shallow anchored cables that are supporting the deck portion.”
Drill shafts that are 10 ft in diameter and about 50 ft deep will serve as a foundation for the bridge. The shafts will transition into aesthetic columns and pylons. The beams rest on a continuously poured concrete cap that helps support the deck. The Art Deco-style bridges include sidewalks and overlooks for pedestrians.
Austin connectors
In Austin, SEMA Construction, based in the city, is constructing four direct flyover connectors where I-35 meets Ben White Boulevard. Proposition-14 bonds funded the $26-million project. The third and final phase of the work, which began in 2010, is expected to be completed this fall.
“We have fairly small spaces to work in, so the challenges have been how to build and get those pieces up in the air and be able to work around the traffic,” says Terry McCoy, TxDOT area engineer. The agency is using steel girders to cross the main lanes and concrete U-beams on the balance of the project. The substructure is cast-in-place concrete.
In Buda, Ballenger Construction of Rio Grande Valley, Texas, is widening Main Street from a three-lane overpass to five lanes, with further widening possible in the future. The $9.4-million project is 70% complete.
In Kyle, at the intersection of I-35 and Windy Hill Road, Hunter Industries of San Marcos, Texas, is replacing a two-lane overpass with a five-lane section and constructing a frontage road. The $13-million project is 85% complete.
Dallas-Fort Worth partnerships
To the north, work in the Dallas-Fort Worth area includes two comprehensive development agreement projects, built as public-private partnerships.
The North Tarrant Express, a $2.5-billion project, is being built by NTE Mobility Partners, which is led by Cintra US of Austin. The work includes constructing I-35 westbound direct connectors into the eastbound-managed lanes.
LBJ Infrastructure Group, a Cintra-led consortium, is building the $2.7-billion, 17-mile-long LBJ Express, which will include elevated managed lanes along I-35 eastbound to connect directly to the I-635 managed lanes. It is expected to double the capacity of the LBJ Freeway and accommodate population growth over the next 30 years, according to the project website.
Gainesville gains new spaces
In Gainesville, Ed Bell Construction of Dallas is extending frontage roads adjacent to I-35 to tie into U.S. Route 82. The 3.1-mile project also will widen the U.S. 82 Bridge to accommodate turn lanes. Funded by $14.3 million in ARRA monies, the project is 30% complete and scheduled for completion in 2013.
“This project has about every item that you can have on a project,” says Mike Hallum, TxDOT area engineer in Gainesville. “It has bridgework, lighting, signals, concrete pavement, hot mix and storm sewers. It's a lot of work in a compressed area.”
