Last major closure of I-10 at Ralph Fair ON for this weekend

As of 2:30 this afternoon (Tuesday), Sundt Construction has this weekend pegged for the final major closure associated with expanding the Ralph Fair Road overpass bridge.

Sundt will pour concrete to form the remaining portion of the overpass bridge deck.

The closure will match what's been done before - the main lanes of I-10 will close in both directions. I-10 traffic will exit Ralph Fair Road, push through the intersection and re-enter the roadway. We expect long delays associated with this closure.

Ralph Fair Road will close between Old Fredericksburg Road and I-10 to allow the I-10 traffic to move through the Ralph Fair Road intersection more fluidly. Traffic on Ralph Fair Road will use Old Fredericksburg Road to reach the I-10 frontage road (to the west) or Aue Road (to the east) and continue on to its destination.

As with the previous four weekend closures, this weekend we will utilize this traffic configuration. Drivers should expect delays but rest assured this is the last major closure of I-10 associated with this project.

Time of the closure:  4 a.m. Saturday through 5 a.m. Monday. Project bosses expect to have the highway opened by early Sunday, but drivers should expect the possibility lanes remain closed until Monday morning.

This is the fifth closure like this on the project. Initially, as many as eight of these closures were expected; two months ago we announced an expectation of six closures. Project managers have consistently sought ways to accelerate the work on this job to reduce the number of closures and the duration of the project. The fact this fifth closure is the final major closure shows the success Sundt has had in making work more efficient.

Overnight closures of alternating lanes will be used to build the concrete barrier along the edge of the bridge deck. That will happen later in March. We expect a weekend's worth of closures along the I-10 frontage road and Ralph Fair Road later this spring when Sundt is ready to tie everything together and open the full width of the bridge - a shift that will signal the completion of the project.

That means we'll be done with the project by the end of the school year.