Consistently the biggest concern folks share is about the opening of the Blanco Road overpass bridge. Last week we posted a short video talking about the delay and the solution.
A paving subcontractor is on board to address the surface issues on the bridge deck. We're waiting to get an asphalt batch that meets approved standards (that comes from the asphalt plant), and we should be ready to pave just a day or two after a batch is approved. Project bosses are still targeting the end of March to have the bridge open, if weather permits.
Otherwise, a few small items are being addressed. These include:
- Lighting at the Blanco overpass. Some of the wiring hadn't been put in because of a blockage in the conduit. Electricians are saying the issue has been resolved and lights should be on this week.
- The westbound sign for Vista Del Norte. A bike lane sign was obscuring the VDN sign; we put our best guys on it this week and it is done.
- Yield signs for the westbound exit ramp to Blanco Road. We will not be posting yield signs at the end of exit ramps on this project, in line with our area-wide policy to replace yield signs with a double white line that shouldn't be crossed. The idea is safety; we've actually seen a reduction in crashes when we've removed the yield signs for the white lines.
West to Jones-Maltsberger
Jones-Maltsberger to Wetmore
Bridge crews are planning to pour the remaining bridge deck at Salado Creek this week. Meanwhile, the two abutments and first two (of four) column caps will be poured in the nest two weeks. Abutments and column caps serve as a resting spot for bridge support beams, which hold the bridge deck up. In a best-case scenario with weather and resources we would have the bridge deck built by Labor Day.
Meanwhile, three other areas are being addressed with effort: the westbound widening of Starcrest, the widening of Jones-Maltsberger and the entryway of the city's brush site. With concrete crews about to be made available (while concrete structures cure), project planners will move them over to the brush site entryway to hammer out some of the road work remaining there (the roadway is made up of concrete slabs in that vicinity).
The road widening at JM is still being coordinated; the driveways involved, plus the coordination with another contractor, have made planning sluggish. We should be ready to hit that area in March.
At Starcrest, though, we're looking at March 3 to start the work. This date is tentative and is still very weather dependent. The work will block one of the entrances to the soccer fields across from Gardenville, but only during the week. Bosses with Texas Sterling Construction have committed to do heat they can to be out of the way by the end of the week.