Over the weekend we had a short chunk of the north-bound U.S. Hwy 281 frontage road shut down approaching Bitters Road near the airport.
The closure detoured traffic off the frontage road and on to side streets, no doubt causing a few minor hassles for local commuters. The closure was set for the entire weekend.
The work being done was simple enough, but it's known for being time-consuming. Laying massive drain structures requires a process of digging a huge trench, setting by crane large concrete boxes, sealing the boxes in place with concrete and rock, burying the structures and sealing it all up with asphalt.
The tricky part is letting some of the structures cure and strengthen, which can take days to accomplish.
Here's where the credit is offered: the underground utility subcontractor working on this drain structure, I D Guerra, Lp., of Austin, got the drain structure put in place and had the frontage road reopened late Saturday night.
That's just 24 hours after shutting the frontage road down - simply amazing.
The drain structures are firmly in place now; the roadway has since been sealed up. More work in the area remains, but this major chore was finished nearly before it started.
Today I invite you to join me in thanking I D Guerra, and road-building crews like theirs - who work so hard to build and maintain and improve our roads, often completing work that'd be in the way of our traveling lanes well ahead of schedule.
Thanks, road builders. We appreciate you!
