Construction is under way on a $330 million Texas State Highway 360 South project that will add lanes to the highway stretching 9.7 mi. (15.6 km) from 2 mi. (3.2 km) south of I-20 in Arlington, south to U.S. 287 in Ellis County.
Construction is under way on a $330 million Texas State Highway 360 South project that will add lanes to the highway stretching 9.7 mi. (15.6 km) from 2 mi. (3.2 km) south of I-20 in Arlington, south to U.S. 287 in Ellis County.
The project is overseen by a public-private partnership between the Texas Department of Transportation, the North Texas Tollway Authority and the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
Initial work on the project will feature construction of two toll lanes in each direction starting near East Sublett Road and West Camp Wisdom Road and stretching south to U.S. 287. A little more than half of the highway has two existing frontage road lanes in each direction. The remainder is one frontage road lane in each direction. Most of the highway is in Tarrant County.
By late 2017, SH 360 will have two frontage road lanes and two toll lanes in each direction for the entire project length. The ultimate (second-phase) plan is to have three to four toll lanes in each direction.
No funding plan is in place for the ultimate construction phase, but the estimated cost for this phase is $604 million.
In addition to added lanes, initial plans call for intersection and frontage road improvements. The project will add bridges on U.S. 287 northbound and southbound over SH 360.
Currently U.S. 287 and SH 360 intersect and traffic is controlled by signals at the intersection. After completion of the bridges, the traffic signals will be removed.
Planners estimate 2.5 million cu. yds. (1.9 million cu m) of earth will be moved to prepare for the SH 360 road improvements and 200,000 cu. yds. (152,910 cu m) of dirt will need to be brought in. Crews will apply 235,000 cu. yds. (179,670 cu m) of concrete to pave the roads.
TxDOT is financing and overseeing construction of the project before turning the roadway over to the North Texas Tollway Authority. Toll revenues would then be used to reimburse TxDOT and for NTTA to maintain and operate the toll highway.
The North Central Texas Council of Governments' Regional Transportation Commission provided financial assistance for the project.
Substantial completion of the initial work is expected by late 2017. The project is expected to provide needed safety improvements, congestion relief and economic development benefits.
“This project has been on the books for some time and interest in the property surrounding the project has continued to build,” said Keith Bilbrey, 360 South Project public information coordinator. “We have heard reports for all the municipal agencies involved that economic growth is expected to blossom as the project continues and reaches completion.”
Current work includes excavation and placement of embankments for the roadway, along with installation of drill shafts, extensions for bridges, drainage systems, temporary detours and bent cap. A bent cap is two or more piles driven in a row transverse to the long dimension of the structure and fastened together by capping.
Equipment at the construction site includes excavators, bulldozers, loaders, mixers, off-road dump trucks and scrapers.
State Highway 360 South is a design-build project. Design-build is a method of project delivery in which the design-build team works under a single contract with the project owner to provide design and construction services. It typically cuts construction time in half.
Contractor is Lane-Abrams Joint Venture of Mansfield, Texas. Lane Construction Corporation of Cheshire, Conn., and J.D. Abrams of Austin, Texas, partnered to form the Lane-Abrams Joint Venture to design and construct the SH 360 project.
The Lane-Abrams Joint Venture assembled a project team comprised of AECOM Technical Services Inc., of Los Angeles, Calif.; Blanton & Associates Inc., of Lakeway, Texas; CSJ Utility Coordinators LLC, of Hutto, Texas; Fugro Consultants Inc., of Ventura, Calif.; Hayden Consultants Inc., of Dallas, Texas; Infrastructure Corporation of America of Brentwood, Tenn.; K Strategies Group LLC, of Fort Worth; Michael Baker Jr. Inc., of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Pinnacle Consulting Management Group Inc., of Oklahoma City, Okla.; Rios Engineering LLC, of Austin, Texas; Rodriguez Engineering Laboratories LLC, of Austin, Texas; and SE3 LLC, of Lees Summit, Mo.
Subcontractors for the project include: MICA Corp. of Fort Worth, Texas, for signage and intelligent transportation system (ITS); WW Foundation of Houston, Texas, for foundation drilling; W.O.E. Construction Inc., of Grand Prairie, Texas, for flatwork and sawing; Reynolds Asphalt of Euless, Texas, for asphalt paving; and Indus Construction of Houston, Texas, for rebar installation.
The project includes at least 12 different trades spanning from laborers to skilled carpenters and concrete finishers. Between 250 and 300 craft employees will be on the job each day when construction is in full swing. Approximately 125 craft employees are working on the early stages of the project.
Project manager for TxDOT is Tony Payberah, with Jason McLear as project manager for the Lane-Abrams Joint Venture.
SH 360 Dates Back to the 1950s
TxDOT first developed and opened portions of SH 360 in 1958, and the department has regularly improved and expanded the highway ever since. Population has surged substantially since that time.
“Growth in the area, especially the southern sector, has been experienced in recent years,” Bilbrey said. “Traffic counts show that approximately 52,000 drivers use the corridor each day. Projections show that by the year 2030 that will increase to 174,000 drivers daily.”
Project on Schedule
“As with any project of this size, there are unexpected delays,” Bilbrey said. “Delays with utility relocations, permitting and weather are always expected and planned for. At this time, the project is on schedule and is expected to reach substantial completion by the end of 2017.”
Detours in Place
The project will use temporary detours to facilitate the construction of crossover bridges. Detours are in place for bridge construction at Webb Lynn Road/Lynn Creek Parkway; Debbie Lane/Ragland Road; Broad Street; and Heritage Parkway.
This summer a detour for bridge construction will be in place at Sublett Road/Camp Wisdom Road.
Bilbrey said that feedback from local residents and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute show that delays in navigating the detours have been minimal to nonexistent.
Public Information
Team Is in Place
A public information team led by K Strategies works with TxDOT and North Texas Tollway Authority to keep SH 360 users informed on project progress. The team holds outreach activities to engage the public throughout the project duration. It conducts public meetings and operates a public information office. Its tools include a project website, a mobile app, text alerts, as well as social media and project hotlines.
The contractor also developed a traffic management plan to minimize traffic impacts during construction. The plan allows motorists to use existing improvements on SH 360 for most of the construction duration. Many cross streets are being constructed using a detour concept to keep traffic moving at normal levels.
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