Following rush hour tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 21) morning, the newly constructed southbound Loop 337 lanes between New Braunfels High School (north of the SH 46 overpass) and just south of Oak Run Parkway will open to drivers as the latest in a series of scheduled traffic switches on the Loop 337 Expansion Project.
All southbound traffic will be permanently shifted to the new lanes. Once this section has opened, crews will begin work on existing lanes, with one northbound lane remaining open to traffic.
Following the traffic switch, drivers turning from Oak Run Parkway will only be able to head southbound on Loop 337. Drivers wishing to head north on Loop 337 will need to take southbound Loop 337 and turn around at Stone Crossing.
This section of southbound Loop 337 is the last to open as part of this project. Crews will continue working on sections of northbound Loop 337 and making additional improvements in future phases of this project.
Message signs are in place to inform drivers of this change and additional signage will be placed to help guide drivers safely along the roadway.
We ask the traveling public to follow construction signage and remain alert when traveling through the work zone. We appreciate your patience and understanding as crews work to improve safety and mobility in the area.
Construction for the Loop 337 Expansion project began in November 2017 and is estimated to be completed in late 2021. The construction project is about six miles long, from I-35 to Hillcrest Drive, and includes an upgrade to a 4-lane divided roadway with pedestrian accommodations and new bridges in various locations.
For our latest real-time updates, follow us on Twitter. For district-wide scheduled road closures, check out our blog.
We're making great progress on the largest-scale construction project we currently have going in Comal County!
Talking about the Loop 337 expansion, which will widen it from two lanes to a four-lane divided highway.
Tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday, May 21), southbound traffic will be shifted to newly constructed southbound lanes between Hanz Drive and Rock Street, weather permitting. Crews will also re-open the newly-constructed exit ramp at Gruene Road.
To safely implement the traffic shift, drivers entering Loop 337 from River Terrace and Hanz Drive will be allowed to make right turns only. This is a permanent intersection change at River Terrace. At the end of this phase of construction, Hanz Drive will open as a traditional signalized intersection, allowing left turns.
Message signs are in place to inform drivers of this change and additional signage will be placed to help guide drivers safely travel along the roadway.
We ask the traveling public to follow construction signage and remain aware when driving through the work zone. As always, weather may impact the timing of these closures. We appreciate your patience and understanding as crews work to improve safety and mobility in the area.
Construction for the Loop 337 Expansion project began in November 2017 and is anticipated to be completed in late 2021.
The construction project is about six miles long, from I-35 to Hillcrest Drive. It includes an upgrade to a 4-lane divided roadway with pedestrian accommodations and new bridges in various locations.
We turned Hunter Industries loose to work on the Loop 337 widening project back in November. This $43.3 million project expands the roadway from its existing two lanes to a four-lane divided roadway between I-35 and Hillcrest Drive while adding a sidewalk on one side of the road.
Hunter Industries is currently focusing their efforts on widening existing bridges over Landa Street, Hwy 46 and Rock Street/Gruene Road. This means drilling shafts for bridge support foundations while working on the actual roadway widening between New Braunfels High School to River Road. Different crews have different specialties, and Hunter has ensured they have several crews on site to move the project quickly. They are also working on sound walls at strategic locations within the project limits. Which brings us to an issue that's cropped up....
We’ve recently received noise complaints from some who live near Loop 337. Our team is looking into these issues to see if any additional sound walls are needed. Here's the challenge: sound barrier walls, designed to keep noise from highways on the highway, require a lot of considerations before we can install them. And, unfortunately, those who live several blocks off the highway but hear the noise anyway aren't a required consideration for these countermeasures.
Right now we are investigating the issue; once we have anything definitive we'll make sure to let folks know what the plan moving forward will be. In the meantime we want all to know we've heard the concern, we understand it's not just construction noise folks are experiencing and we're doing what we can to address the issue.
We are also reviewing some driveway, drainage, and utility issues in the project area based on feedback from residents during construction.
In addition to construction work our crews have also addressed some potential safety and environmental issues. Hunter has installed construction fencing at the three railroad crossing locations and installed a rock berm—basically, a physical barrier used to control erosion and sedimentation—to protect the environment in that area. We're also trying to address driver concerns regarding mud on the roadway during wet conditions by installing specific construction exits made of rock for the trucks to use. These exits tend to knock most of the mud off tires as trucks move back onto the road. While we’re all thankful for all the rain we know well the difficulty it can cause for drivers and our construction team. We appreciate your patience while we work to tackle these issues.
All told we are about four months into a four-year project and (so far) running on schedule. We expect to have much more to share with you as work continues and progress is made. Our goal is to have posts like this about once a month, or as needed otherwise, so check back often for the latest.
A four-year, $43.3 million, project expanding Loop 337 to a four-lane divided highway between Hillcrest Drive and Altgelt Lane starts this week with Hunter Industries working immediately on setting barricades and on clearing work areas within right-of-way but off the existing road.
A formal groundbreaking by the city of New Braunfels will take place November 15 at 10 a.m. at the Oakwood Baptist Church.
Whew. That was a keyboardful. It gets you the nuts and bolts, though. Let's now turn to details.
Project overview
Loop 337 has long been a two-lane road looping around New Braunfels and connecting commercial hubs along the north end of the city, the growing west side and along the south end. We are expanding the road to a four-lane divided highway while adding sidewalks along the entire thing.
It's not an expressway, so current intersections will look pretty well the same - just with a whole lot more traffic capacity on Loop 337. This means existing bridges over Landa, Hwy 46 and Rock Street/Gruene Road will be expanded. Other intersections will remain signalized.
What to expect
First of all, this project will be going for about four years - expect work to continue through the end of 2021. Hunter Industries has a reputation in the New Braunfels community for moving projects along quickly and staying on schedule ... but that doesn't mean they'll be able to wrap up a four-year-job in two years. If you live, work or play along Loop 337 (which is pretty much all of New Braunfels) expect to see work every bit of those four years.
The good news is the work is almost entirely outside the active traffic lanes. Closures will be extremely minimal and limited to overnight hours between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. We won't be working Friday or Saturday nights. Hunter Industrieswill typically be out there six days a week.
By contract we won't close two consecutive intersections at the same time.
We are already aware of big events in the area - like Wurstfest or the Comal County Fair - and will make sure we're not getting in the way.
The first few weeks
The first work on any project is setting barrier and clearing right-of-way. None of that will impact your daily traffic.
Hunter wants to begin the heavy lifting by working on bridges - that work will be, after all, the heaviest of the project. We have seven bridges being built on the job, and Hunter's folks say they'd like to begin on the bridges over Gruene Road and over the Guadalupe River.
None of this work will impact daily traffic.
If you're a Unicorn
Don't plan on using construction as an excuse for being late to class, first of all. We will not be doling out excuse slips for students any time soon.
During the first phase of work you'll see no change in the way traffic moves in front of New Braunfels High School. That first phase will last about two years.
Come time this year's freshmen are getting ready to drive we'll have southbound traffic all on the new lanes and kids coming out of the school will need to use turnarounds designed to make the corridor safer to reach the new lanes. We'll have details about the daily view of traffic during later phases when they come about.
Phasing
The first phase will construct - almost completely - the new southbound lanes. This includes all seven new bridges as well as new sidewalks. Crossovers along the route between the northbound and southbound lanes will be built at this stage as well. The first phase will take about two years.
During phases two and three we'll move southbound traffic onto its new path (but it'll still just be one lane) and keep the northbound side where it's at while we rebuild the northbound lanes in halves. Each of these phases will take about a year.
The final phase, which will only take a few months, will be the final surface of asphalt.
It's been a while - like, since at least last year. Isn't it about time we gave a run-down on the happenings in and around Comal County?
Here's a look:
Walnut Hill
To put it simply, Dean Word Company is nearly three-quarters the way done with the project. The most visible portion of the project, though - the full closure of Walnut Avenue between Grandview and Floral - has been stretched even further over the last month. Initially slated to reopen mid-December, we are now looking at waiting for late March to reopen the roadway. The biggest reason here is safety.
The original plan called for opening Walnut Avenue to one lane each way. Concerns of rubber-necking through a canyon with limited sight distances has led project bosses to work with city officials and come to a later opening agreement.
A lot of work remains, but construction is progressing well. Crews have begun setting up a sound wall along the canyon and are finishing up drain structures. Perhaps nicest for those living in the immediate vicinity, cleanup at the top of the hill has begun while crews prepare to do concrete work.
Loop 337 at Ridge Hill
The striping contractor is scheduled to come through early next week to restripe the roadway and provide for a new left-turn lane. We are also working to add a new ditch line to the project and fix the barricades that have occasionally drifted into the travel lanes.
FM 1101
To be completely honest, we're still waiting on a private utility to complete work they began more than a year ago. Current estimates place completion of the utility work sometime this spring. We will then move forward with the project.
US 281 at Hwy 46
The biggest thing to report her is we're more than 80 percent of the way finished with this project. This project has admittedly moved extremely slow and we are assessing the contractor, CRG, appropriate liquidated damages. With the walls nearly complete, dirt crews will begin grading the new turnarounds next week with the aim to start laying asphalt by the middle of the month. We are holding bi-weekly meetings with the contractor to keep them moving, and hope to have work complete in time for summer.
FM 306
Hunter Industries is moving along well, working primarily on drain structures and extensions to existing box culverts. As a relatively new project, we don't have much else to report at this time. This project is scheduled to finish up in 2017.
I-35 ramp reversals
The only thing we really have left at this point is a quick resurfacing of the southbound frontage road. That should eliminate the issues we have with the glare during certain times of the day.
Upcoming projects
Lots of work is coming on the horizon, but here are the highlights:
Resurfacing of I-35 between Solms Rd and the river. This work should start late spring or early summer. This should only feature overnight work.
Pedestrian and bike facility improvements along Landa Street. This work will begin this summer.
Rehabilitate Hwy 46 between I-35 and FM 758. This is an extensive repair job that will start this fall.
Reconstruct the I-35 bridge at FM 1103 and widen FM 1103 between I-35 and Steele High School. This work is programmed for early 2017.
Loop 337 expansion. We're actually working to make this a one-piece project rather than complete work in segments as initially planned. We hope to begin work mid-2017.
Expansion of Hwy 46 in Bulverde. This is currently planned for late 2017.
Upcoming meetings
You're getting everything with this post! Don't miss out on some MAJOR meetings we have coming up. Mark these on your calendar and be sure to join us to give your thoughts on some very important issues:
Feb. 16, 6p-8p at Eden Hill. Open house forum regarding future work on Loop 337.
March 1, 6p-8p at the New Braunfels Civic Center. Metropolitan Planning Organization presentation on projects being considered for federal funding.
March 3, 5p-7p at Smithson Valley High School. Open house forum regarding the expansion of Hwy 46 in Bulverde.
March 29, 5p-7p at Steele High School. Open house forum regarding future work on FM 1103.
If anyone else thinks it been far too long since a run-down on Comal
County projects has been posted, well ... so did we. Without further
ado:
Walnut Avenue
If you've not heard by now, Walnut Avenue will close between Grandview and Floral for the remainder of the year. This is more
than the daily closures drivers have been seeing with the ongoing
utility work that's progressed to the top of the hill. That closure has
pushed traffic onto Fredericksburg Road to get around; our detour
suggests using Landa Street to Loop 337.
Of course,
local residential and business access will be maintained; you'll still
be able to reach those businesses along Walnut. Through traffic will be
restricted, however.
With the road closed, Dean
Word Company will have more open access to widen the road through the
canyon portion of this project. There they are building a huge retaining
wall on the downhill side of the road, which they'll then backfill with
tons (literally!) of dirt. It's called a "mechanically stabilized earth" wall, and will hold up the additional width of the roadway.
This
diagram, published by cenews.com, shows how a mechanically stabilized
earth wall works. An MSE wall will hold up the expansion portion of
Walnut Avenue through the canyon between Grandview and Floral.
Loop 337
The expansion
of the bridge over I-35 at Loop 337/Rueckle Road is within a week of
being finished and all lanes in use. An elevation issue (of only an inch
or two - which is a bigger deal than it sounds like) between the old
turnaround bridge and the existing bridge prevented us from opening it
when we had hoped a cuople of months ago.
With
the specialized crews on site to make appropriate adjustment, we're
only a matter of days from having traffic on all lanes of the bridge.
I-35 ramps between FM 306 and Conrads-Kohlenberg
About
five months ago, Dan Williams Company began reversing the ramps between
FM 306 and Conrads-Kohlenberg. Basically, that means the entrance ramps
will be switched to exit ramps, and the exit ramps to entrance ramps.
Crews will be ready for the first big move on this work next weekend. For more, watch the video:
FM 306
At
this point, it's almost all bridge work that remains. We've got crews
pouring concrete at the overpass near Hunter Road, mainly to form the
approach slabs for the bridge deck. Meanwhile, on the overpass near
Goodwin Lane, we're preparing to pour the bridge deck itself. We still
have a lot of curb work and a median to build, then we'll need to finish
tying the second halves of the bridges into the halves that are already
constructed.
Hunter Industries wants to be finished
with the project by the end of the school year - still ahead of
schedule, though later than they'd have initially liked to be finished
when work began in 2013.
FM 1101
We
are still waiting for utility adjustments to be complete before turning
loose Hunter Industries on this project to widen FM 1101 between Hwy 46
and FM 306. This expansion will include a center left-turn lane,
sidewalks and a larger shoulder area for safe bicycling.
As of now, crews are expected to be able to start work in April.
Recent weather has pushed back some huge milestones across Comal County - particularly in and around New Braunfels - but big developments are still taking shape. The result is a flurry of activity inside a two-week window, set to start late next week.
Here's a run-down, in no particular order:
Lp 337 (Rueckle Road)
For two months folks have been using a finished product that expanded Lp 337 between I-35 and Altgelt Road, but barricades have remained blocking a portion of the overpass bridge. This has limited traffic from the northbound frontage road to a single left turn lane and traffic crossing the bridge over I-35 to a single lane.
The goal of the project, however, was to expand the bridge to allow for two through lanes plus a left turn lane for traffic coming from Rueckle Road and headed north (or west, depending on your perspective) on Lp 337. That was hampered by a slight elevation difference between what used to be the south-to-north turnaround bridge and the existing overpass bridge. The difference, which is only a matter of an inch or so, was noticed when the concrete barrier was demolished as part of the project requirements.
The specialized subcontractor for the work to correct the elevation difference, which happens to fall right in the middle of the wheelpath of one of the lanes, was scheduled to solve the issue this week. Cold and wet weather has pushed that back, and they are now expected to be working on the bridge by the start of next week.
Once work on the bridge begins we'll need about a week to have everything opened up. Call it a St. Patrick's Day gift.
FM 306
Hunter Industries continues to work toward completing the expansion of the roadway and construction of overpasses at the UPRR crossings near Hunter Road and Goodwin Lane in time for summer. Right now that's exactly what will happen.
Crews have been pouring concrete to form the concrete barriers along the overpass near Hunter Road and are working to do the same near Goodwin. This may require temporary or sporadic closures as trucks enter or exit the roadway, but nothing lasting or long-term at all. At most, these closures will last 10 minutes.
Hunter is on pace to have the work complete by the end of the school year (and start of the summer river floating season).
FM 1101
The expansion of FM 1101 between Hwy 46 and FM 306 has been on hold nearly six months while we await utilities to be moved out of conflict. The deadline for that is in April, and we'll then release Hunter Industries to begin work.
The project will last about a year and a half, with most of the work happening during the summers of 2015 and 2016. Since three schools are along this work zone, it's critical we reduce our impact during the school year.
The final product will feature a new center left-turn lane, expanded shoulders for bike use and sidewalks.
I-35 ramp reversals
Dan Williams Company is running slightly ahead of schedule and is ready to open the new northbound entrance ramp from FM 306 around St. Patrick's Day. This new on-ramp is located near Conrads-Kohlenberg and will require the current exit to Conrads-Kohlenberg to close.Traffic to Conrads-Kohlenberg will exit FM 306 and pass through the intersection.
Naturally, that means an uptick in traffic at an already stressed intersection. However, the north-to-south turnaround at FM 306 will open - permanently - and the intersection should see some relief.
The new exit ramp, located near FM 306 (designed to capture the truck traffic headed to the WalMart transfer warehouse), is set to open by the first weekend of April.
Meanwhile, Dan Williams is beginning to set up for work on the southbound side. This is about two months ahead of schedule. They have more work to do on the southbound side than they did on the northbound side, so drivers shouldn't expect such an early finish on the southbound side. We initially planned about six months for each side. We are sticking with the six-month schedule on the southbound side for now.
Walnut Avenue
The city of New Braunfels has approved a proposal brought by us on behalf of the contractor, Dean Word Company, to close Walnut Avenue completely between Grandview and Floral avenues. That closure should take place the week after St. Patricks Day.
Once Walnut Avenue is closed, Dean Word will begin expanding the road through the canyon and will install storm drain features on the uphill and downhill sides of the canyon. The phase of work - and the closure - is expected to last about nine months.
The closure will shorten the overall project duration, however, by about six months. Work began earlier this year and will wrap up before the summer of 2016.
U.S. 281 at Hwy 46
We have received occasional calls asking about the progress on this project that constructs turnarounds for U.S. 281 traffic at Hwy 46 in Bulverde.
CRG is the contractor out there, and they are indeed running behind schedule. As is typical in a situation like this, TxDOT is assessing liquidated damages against the contractor to the tune of a little under $1,000 per day. This is the strongest leverage the department has to help motivate a contractor to accelerate production of a project.
Lately the delays on the project have been due to an equipment breakdown that took several weeks to get repaired. Once the machinery that broke down was ready to work again, weather tackled the area and stopped any productive work from happening.
Project managers are pointing to a completion date early this summer, if all goes well.
One of the adverse effects of holiday-shortened months and having a lot going on elsewhere is an utter lack of updates on project in outlying areas. In this case, the several major projects in Comal County - particularly around New Braunfels - have been moving right along and we need to tell you about it.
FM 306
Last week, just before Thanksgiving, Hunter Industries set bridge support beams over the railroad crossing near Hunter Road to form the backbone for the eastbound bridge, then reworked the intersection at Hunter Road.
While this meant a minor traffic nuisance for the two days crews were out there, it marks another major step toward getting finished with the project overall. Hunter's plan is to have the Hunter Road crossing finished first, though crews will continue working on the overpass at Goodwin as well. Once the overpass near Hunter Road is finished focus will shift to the Goodwin overpass.
The hope is to have the overpass near Hunter Road finished and in use around the New Year, and to have the overpass near Goodwin Lane finished near the end of the school year. Overall project completion is scheduled before the end of the school year.
Loop 337
Another Hunter Industries project, we're falling victim to weather right now. If Hunter Industries had their way, we'd be finished with everything by now ... but cold temperatures and wet weather (much-needed wet weather!) has dampened our ability to lay asphalt and paint the roadway.
Crews were scheduled to do the last bit of asphalt and all the roadway striping last week, but weather pushed that work back. As soon as we get a stretch of weather that's warm enough and dry enough to finish things out, we'll do that.
Again, we were hoping to have the project finished by now (even though we have until January to finish up), and we're trying to have the work done very soon.
I-35 ramps
The project to reverse the entrance and exit ramps between Conrads-Kohlenberg and FM 306 is underway, with Dan Williams Company working already to construct the new northbound ramps. The overall plan is to develop the northbound side first, then move over to the southbound side. Each side should take about six months.
This project is one of our top generators of emails right now - there are several who seem concerned about the length of the northbound entrance ramp from FM 306. The barricade set up in the shoulder area has taken away the shoulder, which was being improperly used by traffic as a defacto acceleration lane.
Here's the thing: entrance ramps are actually designed so that traffic can get to appropriate highway speeds before reaching the lanes of the highway. Ramps are designed to help accelerate - they are acceleration lanes, in and of themselves.
But that's not how they're being treated.
At any rate, folks believe a safety hazard exists so we have our engineers digging through options. We've got four options being examined, and we hope to have settled on one of those four by the end of the week.
Walnut Avenue
Right now the work on Walnut Avenue, between Kerlick and Landa, is being done by NBU and is all utilities work. NBU reported this morning they are on schedule to finish their work by the start of summer. TxDOT work will begin early 2015. FM 1101
Right now this one is all utilities. Specifically, a certain telephone company has lines in the way and we're waiting for them to move out of the way. Hopefully those lines may be moved before we get started (early 2015) so we don't encounter any delays.
US 281 turnarounds
Nearly a year ago we gave the go-ahead to CRG to begin constructing turnarounds on U.S. 281 at Hwy 46. Almost immediately after setting up the work area, CRG realized they wouldn't be able to construct the project the way they had bid it. They halted work and began acquiring the resources (including equipment and personnel) to construct the project the way we designed it.
That process was lengthy ... and CRG went back to work just this fall. As of the end of November they've finished about half the work scheduled for the project, and they are on target to finish the work before the end of the school year.
As for the delays, those are being appropriately handled between the contractor and our area office.
Lots going on in and around Comal County in terms of highway projects ... here's a look:
Seguin Avenue
Last week (Wednesday) we formally and ceremoniously celebrated the completion of the Seguin Avenue underpass. On hand were representatives of Austin Bridge & Road, the contractor who built this project. As you may recall, this is the same contractor who built the original project back in 1935.
The event was hosted by the city of New Braunfels, and Mayor Barron Casteel reminded folks just how long the project had been in the making - at least since he was still in school, referring to his college days. He thanked Rep. Doug Miller, who helped secure the funds for the project through the Texas Proposition 12 grant from the Texas State Legislature.
With other civic leaders - those from the Daughters of the American Revolution, the New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce and others - around, the underpass was toasted. TxDOT District Engineer Mario Jorge lauded some of the engineering of the new underpass - including the nearly 800,000-pound steel structure that now carries rail traffic safely over Seguin Avenue and the 140,000 gallon detention pond under the roadway that will store stormwater to keep the road open through all conditions.
The Loop
Hunter Industries will close portions of the intersection of Loop 337 and Altgelt Lane over the next two weekends. These closures will keep one lane going in each direction, but will squeeze traffic quite a bit. Folks are advised to find alternate routes where they can.
This will allow road builders to reconstruct the intersection. Once this work is complete (mid-September) traffic on Loop 337 between I-35 and Altgelt will shift onto the new asphalt on the south side of the road. Crews will only need a few weeks to rebuild the road on the north side of the road, and work should be ready to wrap up before Halloween.
FM 306
Another Hunter Industries project, this one hit a snag a few weeks ago in waiting for some utilities to be moved. AT&T has been on site regularly, and report they should have their work finished by mid-September. Once that work is finished, Hunter's bridge crews will go to work on the drain structures at the Hunter Road overpass.
While Hunter waits for AT&T to get out of the way, they are working on embankments and structures for the future eastbound lanes of the bridge. They've also got the turnarounds nearly complete at Coleman and at Goodwin Lane, and local traffic may begin using those immediately. This should be helping traffic move through the project a little more smoothly.
If it weren't for the utility adjustments, this project may be finished in time for the holidays. Instead, we're still on pace to be finished early in the new year - which is still ahead of our initial schedule.
U.S. 281 Spring Branch
The temporary (and, by temporary, we mean at least 2-3 years) fix for the U.S. Post Office problem is underway. Hunter Industries (yes, those guys again) is building a "detour" around the building; the northbound lanes of U.S. 281 will simply scoot left, then right again around the building.
Crews are also finishing up work north of the post office, completing the future northbound lanes of the highway. If all goes according to plan, we'll be moving northbound traffic onto the northbound lanes at the Coyote Ridge area and up through to FM 306. As the southbound lanes are finished - traffic in both directions are using the southbound side for most of the project - this will effectively split traffic to its final path.
To be clear: we won't have two lanes in each direction until work is complete (end of the year). Until then, we'll have a single lane each way, but those lanes will be on the final location of the roadway.
On the south end of the project (more or less from FM 311 south to the river) we're hoping to have traffic moved over nearly as quick; we have a few utilities to adjust and some finishing touches to some bridge structures to wrap up.
Again, all told ... we're hoping to be finished with this project around the end of the year.
Upcoming projects
The Walnut Avenue expansion - we're calling it the "Walnut Hill" job - should start up this fall (likely late fall, like November). Right now we're still getting utilities cleared out of the way.
The I-35 Conrads/Kohlenberg project - which will realign the entrance and exit ramps between FM 306 and Conrads/Kohlenberg on the northeast end of the county - could start as early as October.
FM 1101 between Hwy 46 and FM 36 is getting a continuous center turn lane, sidewalks and some space for bikes (handy with three schools along the route). Though the project can start in November, we're expecting the start date to perhaps push back to January. Right now utilities are being moved.
I-35 Selma This project wrapped up about a week ago, and all that's left is paperwork and what we call a "punch list". For the purposes of those routinely driving through the area, the project is complete and finished. We're glad to have that extra lane on I-35 between FM 3009 and Loop 1604; it seems to be doing its job thus far!
Loop 337 Hunter Industries has removed some of the overhang materials from the overpass and their electrical subcontractor is nearly finished with the new signal poles at I-35 and Rueckle Road. That means most of the work on the bridge itself - we removed a bridge rail and a center median - is wrapping up. We have plenty of paving work left to do, though, with an entire half of a roadway left to be built.
That road work should begin in the next week or two, with traffic shifting over onto the new asphalt to allow the room to do what needs to be done.
Right now we're on pace to finish up by Halloween - roughly three months ahead of schedule.
Seguin Avenue
Next week - August 27 - we will join the city of New Braunfels and the New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce to christen the newly completed underpass expansion on Seguin Avenue.
This is a project that's taken nearly 30 years to complete. Most of that time was spent planning and coordinating between agencies, and just under two years was spent in actual construction. The old underpass, built in the 1930s under the Works Progress Administration plan to fund road projects in order to provide local jobs to those struggling through the Great Depression, was just two lanes wide. Growth over the last 70 years has made the expansion of the underpass a must, and local leaders saw the need as early as the 1980s.
In an ironic twist of fate, the same company contracted to build the original underpass in 1935 was hired to construct the new one. Austin Bridge Company preserved the stone that made up the hand-set retaining walls in order to use that stone as a facade on the new retaining walls, keeping the historic feel of the original project.
In addition to the historic feel, the new underpass features four lanes, a drastically improved drain structure and sidewalks for folks traveling by foot or by bicycle. All features were opened up earlier this month. U.S. Highway 281
It's been a few weeks since we've looked at the projects in and around Comal County ... time to get everyone updated and up-to-speed. We'll try to keep things to the point....
I-35 Selma
This project is winding down, and should be complete - totally complete - by the end of July. Representatives of Dan Williams Company have indicated they'll have crews working on the turnarounds at FM 3009 over the next two weeks and hope to have it in play by mid-July. Right now their focus is squarely on the main lanes of I-35, which are being resurfaced and striped with overnight work.
The turnaround at FM 1518 also remains, but should be built along with the turnaround at FM 3009.
Questions have abounded about the timing on this project. We are examining the impacts of events beyond the control of the contractor (including design issues and weather-related delays), and may credit that time to the contractor as appropriate. Given the circumstances, TxDOT engineers doing these reviews indicate they may conclude the contractor was able to successfully perform the work within the allotted time (adjusted for these delays).
That's a round-about, technical way of saying the project is still running on time.
Loop 337
Mark your calendars for July 7. It's that date that Hunter Industries has set aside to close the driveway for the truck stop on Loop 337 so they can rebuild the road in that area. The closure should last only a few short weeks, and when that work is done the contractor plans to move traffic onto the new asphalt. The current asphalt will be torn up to allow the road to be rebuilt.
All told, Hunter is aiming at having the road reconstruction finished somewhere around the end of August or early September. If that happens, the whole project (which expands the overpass bridge at Loop 337 and I-35 to handle the added capacity brought, in part, by the truck stop) could be done as early as October. That would be at least three months earlier than anticipated.
There are factors that could knock that goal back a bit, but for right now that's the target.
Seguin Avenue
The rock face facade on the retaining walls has taken a little longer than anticipated. Austin Bridge Company hoped to be finished with the project last week, but they are looking now at being done by the end of July. That's not just an optimistic aim, either. With most of the infrastructure finished up - as well as the last pieces of the retaining wall facade being put in place - all that will remain by the end of next week is a final layer of asphalt and pavement markings. Well, that and a few other adjustments.
Bottom line: this project will be complete by the end of July.
FM 306
Most are well aware of the overpasses at the two railroad crossings. Hunter Industries has also tweaked the traffic signals at Common Street, optimizing traffic flow.
We're dealing with some conflicts with AT&T in the area still, and that's slowing the pace a bit. Even still, the folks at Hunter are aiming for early 2015 to be finished with everything. That still looks extremely doable.
FM 1101
This project was just awarded to Hunter Industries, and expands FM 1101 between Hwy 46 and the extension of FM 306 on the north side of New Braunfels.
We're aiming at early fall to begin work. This will go through two - two - school zones, so folks commuting to those schools should be aware of changing conditions as we begin work.
U.S. 281 Comal
The biggest question here is how we're going to get around the U.S. Post Office in Spring Branch. Once that question is answered, the project will be able to wrap up pretty quickly. In fact, we're eyeing a completion date of this fall - something like nine months earlier than we had planned at the start of the project.
That said, we still need to figure out the Post Office issue. We've got a couple of ideas on the table, but we need to iron out the costs associated with these plans. We're doing so with the constant reminder these solutions are temporary. When the USPS is able to vacate the building, we'll go back and finish the job as it was originally planned.
U.S. 281 and Hwy 46
Those out in Bulverde know of the barricades we've got in place for a project that adds turnarounds on U.S. 281 at Hwy 46. CRG - that's the name of the contractor - has halted work for a while because they're trying to renegotiate the way the project is constructed. We're doing our best to work with them and get them working as quickly as possible.
Because work could resume any day now, we can't remove the barricades that were put in place and restripe the roadway. That would cost us quite a bit of money, and could have to be undone in a simple matter of days. We know it's frustrating to see the barricades without much going on, but for now we're a bit stuck.
Walnut Avenue
Back to New Braunfels for a moment....
The Walnut Avenue job is still in the middle of a 180-day delay to allow for utilities to be adjusted. We're aiming right now at getting work going early 2015. Between now and then, folks may see utilities crews out there adjusting lines as appropriate. At least, we hope that's seen by folks.
I-35 at FM 306
Another new project to be awarded is a project that will realign the exit and entrance ramps along I-35 between FM 306 and Conrads/Kohlenberg north of New Braunfels. This project has been awarded to The Dan Williams Company, and is slated to begin (most likely) early 2015. We've got a bit of a delay built into the project for utility adjustments. The project is pretty straight-forward, and should take less than a year to construct.
The biggest disadvantage to being the sole poster for an organizational blog like this is when that sole poster is out of town (or state) for a period of time, the posts stop altogether.
So, apologies for going dark over the last three weeks. To get us back up and running, and to get everyone on the same page again, we'll start with a (really long) post about projects beyond the city of San Antonio. So, if you're here to read about projects in Kendall, Guadalupe or Comal county, enjoy.
FM 1101
The Texas Transportation Commission in April approved funds for a contract to expand FM 1101 on the northeast side of New Braunfels.
Hunter Industries - who is building three other major projects we'll discuss in a bit - won the project with a bid of $6,154,722.50. That was nearly 6 percent under our own engineers' estimate of the construction costs for this project. (Total project cost is expected to be around $8 million.)
So ... what are we doing? We're expanding the road to include a continuous left-turn lane. We're also adding bike lanes and sidewalks. Now, this will stretch between Hwy 46 and FM 306, essentially. Work will begin this summer, and we'll certainly be working in the school zones through the school year.
Those are the facts right now; the goal right now is just to let folks know this project is coming. More details will be available when the project gets underway.
FM 306
This is another Hunter Industries project (including FM 1101, this is 2 of 4).
The contractor opened the bridge at Goodwin late last month. The bridge at Hunter Lane was opened earlier this week. Moving forward, this means traffic on this portion of FM 306 will never have to stop to wait for a train again. That's a thing completely of the past. Granted, it's only one lane each way. But that's because we've only got the westbound bridges built, and for now we're using them for two-way traffic. Work on the eastbound bridges started earlier this week.
Now, this shift to the overpasses has been accompanied by a few headaches, particularly at Common Street. We're working with the city of New Braunfels to adjust the traffic signals at Common to allow for optimal traffic flow.
That said, we did get a left turn lane open for westbound traffic at Hunter Road. That means folks headed to Gruene are able to get there by turning left at Hunter. The contractor is working on getting the section of road between I-35 and Lifehouse opened up to four lanes (two each way).
Overall completion is still on target for January 2015.
Loop 337 (Rueckle Road)
Seguin Avenue
Trains are using the new bridge and the shoo-fly detour has been removed. We are still having occasional overnight closures of Seguin Avenue at the UPRR crossing while painters touch up the bridge; previous paint work has been spoiled a bit by the rains during recent weeks.
The contractor, Austin Bridge and Road - the same company that built the original railroad underpass in the 1930s - is is busily working on the sidewalks and driveways on the west side of the underpass while stone masons place the rock face for the retaining walls. Remember: these stones for the wall face are the same stones that comprised the original retaining wall.
If all goes well, the latest ABR schedule shows work to be finished at the end of this month.
U.S. 281 Comal
Representatives with the U.S. Post Office held a public meeting this week to discuss potential new locations for the Spring Branch Post Office, which is sitting in the middle of what will eventually be the northbound main lanes of U.S. Highway 281.
The property the post office sits on belongs to the Texas Department of Transportation, as it was acquired through the normal right-of-way acquisition process. Since then, the USPS has been working with the folks at TxDOT to develop an agreeable solution to the problem; that is, our road is supposed to go where their building is currently sitting.
Among the solutions - all temporary, until the Post Office can be moved to another location - is a plan that would create a small "detour" for the northbound lanes through (or near) the west parking lot of the Post Office. This is a detour that will remain in place until the originally planned roadway can be built.
To be absolutely clear: this project is not delayed at this point. In fact, the project is running ahead of schedule. Credit Hunter Industries for that. Even with the situation around the Post Office, this project should finish well ahead of the scheduled completion date.
That said, local folks should note we'll finish with the detour in place, and we'll have to come back with a separate project to build the originally planned northbound lanes.
Questions about the relocation of the USPS building should be directed to Sandra A. Rybicki, Real Estate Specialist for the U.S. Postal Service. Her email address is sandra.a.rybicki@usps.gov.
Hwy 39 Ingram
About two weeks ago, our area engineer in Kerrville reported to the Ingram City Council regarding the progress Relmco Construction is making on Highway 39. Here are his notes from that report:
Material is being removed from the Loop Road. No more material will be stockpiled in this area.
We have stepped up dust control along the project. Water truck is on project and is shooting water to help with dust. (This is an issue we deal with on each of our projects, and it's often difficult to balance the need to keep dust down with the need to conserve water in the middle of a major drought....)
We are going to install some temporary paving on the Loop to improve aesthetics and help with dust and tracking of material.
Last month was the first month for a while the contractor did not fall further behind schedule. We are looking at hurrying along some of the paving work west of the Johnson Creek Bridge to get this area done before school and the arts and crafts fair.
I-10 frontage road - Seguin
This is a project that is entirely funded - that's 100 percent! - by non-TxDOT funds. A private developer fronted some money, as did the economic development group in Seguin, to build a frontage road between Hwy 46 and FM 464 on the west end of Seguin.
The project continues to move forward on schedule, and should wrap up by the end of summer.
A new project is set to start in New Braunfels Monday, making the intersection of I-35 and Rueckle Road (Loop 337) an active construction zone through the end of the year.
The goal of the $3.2 millionroject is to open up the Rueckle Road bridge over I-35 to have multiple lanes in each direction, which will be done by eliminating the south-to-north turnaround and the raised median barriers. The intersection has an abnormally high volume of large truck traffic due to a nearby truck stop.
Most of the work - particularly the road work on Rueckle Road between I-35 and Altgelt, where we'll be expanding the road to match the expanded bridge - will be done at night to avoid heavier traffic volumes. No new bridge structure will be built. Some work will be done during the day where possible, and drivers should be aware of the constant change associated with active work zones.
Daily drivers should be aware of the early elimination of the turnaround. This will happen by the end of April, and is a permanent change. The structure used as the turnaround will be converted for use as the expanded overpass.
The contractor doing the work is Hunter Industries, the same company currently building the FM 306 job on the north side of New Braunfels and the US 281 expansion through Spring Branch. Both of those jobs are running well ahead of schedule.
In an ongoing effort to improve safety and address congestion,the Texas Transportation Commission approved the $2.45 million bid by Hunter Industries to improve the intersection of I-35 and Rueckle Road in New Braunfels. “As Texas roadways become increasingly crowded, we must find ways to relieve congestion without compromising safety,” said Phil Wilson, TxDOT executive director. “Keeping travelers moving safely and efficiently will continue to be an ongoing priority as Texas welcomes nearly 1,000 newcomers each day.”
The project will stretch approximately 0.2 miles along Loop 337 between I-35 and Altgelt Road. The highway overpass will be expanded from two lanes in each direction – including the dedicated left-turn lanes – to three lanes each way. This will be accomplished by removing a raised center median and converting the south-to-north turnaround. Construction is expected to begin spring 2014 and be completed by early 2015.
“In a state as vast as Texas, it is imperative to not only have reliable roadways connecting our rural and urban citizens, but also to be diligent in designing and maintaining them with safety in mind,” said Commissioner Fred Underwood of the Texas Transportation Commission. “Keeping everyone safe on the road is our first priority. We must do everything we can to get the driving public safely to their destinations and home to their families at the end of the day.”
Loop 337 will be widened to fit the expanded overpass and tied into the intersection at Altgelt. Traffic patterns on this small segment of road are complicated by the high volume of trucks using the truck stop at this intersection. These improvements are intended to simplify traffic patterns and relieve the associated congestion.
The total cost for the work, including the engineering and design work already done, is $3.18 million.
A bid from CRG, of San Antonio, to rehabilitate the intersection of FM 471 and I-35 in Natalia was also accepted. That bid was $1.34 million. The total project will cost an estimated $1.7 million and will begin this spring.
It's been a while since a hearty post was published about all things Comal County, so this post should be a particular treat to those living in the beautiful Texas Hill Country areas north of the metro area....
New project
The best place to begin is with something new, right? Earlier this week we accepted bids on a project at I-35 and Loop 337 (Rueckle Road) to reconfigure the Loop 337 overpass bridge. Hunter Industries of San Marcos submitted the apparent low bid, 10 percent less than the estimate TxDOT engineers came up with.
For more on this, check out the KGNB Web site here. (We'd post more here, but KGNB has all the info we'd have.)
U.S. 281 Comal
Two major items have happened on the U.S. 281 project up in Spring Branch: the southbound lanes have been seperated from the northbound lanes between the Blanco-Comal county line and Blazing Meadows. Second - and, perhaps, most important for motorists to know - is the decrease in speed limit along the project.
The speed limit change is permanent. Except for a small segment near FM 311, the speed limit is 55 miles per hour. Remember: it's an active construction zone, and Comal County law enforcement officials are enforcing the speed limit. If workers are on the project, the fine is doubled.
That short segment at FM 311 is posted at 50 miles per hour, but it's not a bad idea to drop to 45.
Just for grins, here's a look at the drive from the county line to the Guadalupe River:
Seguin Avenue
This is a project that won't give us much to really talk about (regarding traffic switches, etc.) until sometime this spring. Well, we'll have a traffic switch on Seguin Avenue between Nacogdoches and Faust as we finish the work we're doing on the westbound side of Seguin Avenue and move onto the eastbound side, but that's still a few weeks away.
For now, we're on pace to finish the project on time. The shoofly detour is in place and in use. The old overpass bridge structure has been removed and crews are getting ready to start building the new bridge.
Remember: we need to build two bridges and knock down two bridges. We're building the shoofly bridge, knocking down the old bridge, building a new bridge, then knocking down the shoofly bridge.
We're also building the drain field - really, a detention pond - under the roadway as well. That will help keep the entryway to New Braunfels open through rain events. With the rock walls that will match the original retaining walls along the project (and the nice pedestrian handrails along the road under the UPRR overpass), it will make for a beautiful gateway to the city's downtown.
I-35 Selma
With the work at Forum Parkway done - at least, the bridge work is done - bridge crews and concrete crews are being moved to work on the FM 3009 overpass and turnaround bridges. The goal is to have the north-to-south turnaround open and the overpass at its final configuration by Christmas.
The future
City and county officials have adopted a list of priorities - five prioritized projects, really - to submit to the metropolitan planning organization. Both municipalities are now members of the San Antonio-Bexar County MPO, and most projects with TxDOT and federal funds need approval through the MPO moving forward. (By the way, rumor has it the MPO will be getting a new name.)
Among the prioritized projects submitted by Comal County and New Braunfels is work on Loop 337 between Altgelt and Highway 46, expansion of FM 306 between Hunter Road and River Chase Drive and expansion of Hwy 46 at Bulverde.
