Last week Dan Williams Company began a $5 million project to reconfigure entrance and exit ramps between FM 306 and Conrads-Kohlenberg in New Braunfels. The work will take about a year to complete.
The idea here is to free up the intersection of FM 306 and I-35 by allowing traffic headed for locations along the access roads in each direction to skip the intersection itself. This will particularly help traffic along the northbound access road at FM 306, where large trucks headed to a transfer station along the northbound access road are currently bogging down traffic.
Overnight closures are being used to allow crews to set up the work area. Once the work zone is set up and barricades are in place, Dan Williams Company will be able to move in equipment to begin excavation.
Crews will work on the northbound side first then move to the southbound side, spending about six months on each side of the highway. The old ramps, currently in use, will not be closed until the new ramps are complete. We are also working on the turnarounds. Work on the north-to-south turnaround is first, and will mean the turnaround will be closed for about six months.
Of the $5 million total project cost, $4.2 is direct construction costs to the contractor. The rest of the price will cover engineering and administrative fees. No additional right-of-way was needed for this project. Most of the work will be behind barrier, and beyond the closure of the turnarounds traffic won't be interrupted much through the duration of work.