Fred-Med project set to start

Work on a $14.6 million Texas Department of Transportation effort to more freely usher traffic into the South Texas Medical Center by bridging Fredericksburg Road over Medical Drive is set to begin Sept. 24 and should wrap up by the start of 2015.

This look at Medical Drive, looking from the South Texas Medical Center, shows what the final product will look like.

Texas Sterling Construction, of Houston, won the contract for the project early this summer. With most of the utilities adjustments completed in anticipation of the project, crews will be able to go right to work.

The project has been anticipated by folks at the medical center for quite a while. The prospect of eliminating critical minutes from the travel time into the medical center with the final product could save some lives – not to mention the safety enhancements brought by eliminating the cross traffic from this intersection.

Over the course of the first week Texas Sterling Construction is planning to set up barricades and begin work on a pair of manholes on Medical Drive, east of Fredericksburg Road. Project supervisors say the bulk of work during the ensuing weeks will be done out of the way of the current travel lanes.

Work will be done six days per week. Lane closures on the project are limited, by contract, to night time closures. The single exception is a two-week milestone on the project to allow crews to build the actual bridge structure on Fredericksburg Road, expected to occur late 2014. During that milestone all through traffic on Fredericksburg Road will be closed. At least one lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction on Medical Drive through the duration of the work.

Funding for the $14.6 million project comes from traditional resources, including the motor fuels tax and contributions from local municipalities.