Wednesday, March 19

New project: Ralph Fair Road bridge

A new project is set to begin Monday (24 March), potentially impacting traffic in the Fair Oaks Ranch area. 

The project is on I-10 at Ralph Fair Road. Most of the work is on the RFR bridge itself; we're rebuilding the bridge to accommodate growth in the area. It's also the start of a multi-project effort to convert the frontage roads through The Leon Springs/Fair Oaks Ranch area to one-way frontage roads, enhancing safety as growth continues.

Let's talk some details of the project....

Total estimated project cost is $7.6 million.
Project's estimated completion is late spring/early summer 2015.
Contractor is Sundt Construction.

For the first month or so, work will focus on adjusting the eastbound frontage road at RFR for construction. Drivers should keep in mind the frontage road will be converted to a one-way frontage road from near Aue Road to RFR. The westbound frontage road will also be converted to a one-way frontage road.

Let's clear something up: these frontage roads are currently two-way. We'll call the frontage road along the westbound main lanes the westbound frontage road (which it will be when we're done) and the frontage road on the eastbound side will likewise be called the eastbound frontage road.

Anyway, once our work on the eastbound frontage road finishes up for phasing work on the bridge will commence. In addition to expanding the bridge (today it has just a single lane in each direction; we'll have a bridge with three lanes each way when we're done) we are adding a west-to-east turnaround.

Over the next year-plus of work we'll prioritize keeping the bridge open to traffic and the exit ramp to RFR operable (the ramp will be rebuilt as part of the effort to convert the frontage road). Overnight closures of the bridge and I-10 main lanes will be used as needed to place bridge support beams and other structures.

The remaining work to convert frontage roads between The Dominion and Fair Oaks Ranch will begin in about a year.