So ... there's this project we started back in October that's on I-10 on the east end of town. We had intentions to produce a brief video about the project when it started, but that ended up a project on the back burner. Meanwhile, this project pushed on - and it's moving rather well.
It's about time we posted some info on this (something we'll do much more frequently moving forward).
The big picture
In a nutshell we're converting the frontage roads to one-way between Foster and Graytown roads. We're also adding a new overpass at Woodlake Parkway, upgrading all the intersections (with signals and everything) and reconfiguring the entrance and exit ramps. We've got more details here.
The $63.8 million project will wrap up mid-2019. Texas Sterling Construction is our contractor, and CEC makes up our project management and inspection team.
Since the start
With the exception of a few rainy cold days in January the south Texas winter has been kind and drivers will continue to see more construction activity along the project. Heck, we haven't even lost any time due to weather (a credit to the project team, as this is our slow time of the year for us). To date we've started work on drain structures and we've been working on some asphalt repairs - pretty minor stuff when you look at the grand scheme of what we're doing.Right now
The contractor’s focus for now is construction of temporary detours to shift main lane traffic (not much - just a small shift; most folks won't really notice a huge difference) later this month. We'll be sure to let folks know when that happens.
For now, expect to see work on the future westbound bridge for the new Woodlake Parkway overpass. Texas Sterling is also working on retaining walls at Foster Road for the turn-around at the bridge there.
Coming up
The most significant and noticeable construction will be the conversion of the two-way access roads to one-way frontage roads. Studies indicate a significant reduction in crashes when a two-way access road is converted to one-way frontage roads. We're still not at that stage of the project yet, but before we do get there we'll be sure to let folks know with plenty of notice.