James Construction Group LLC (JCG) is building a 6.4-mi. four-lane freeway around the western side of Corrigan, Texas, as part of the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) $172.8 million Corrigan Relief Project in Polk County.
Construction began in September 2022, with completion expected in summer 2027. The new roadway will divert through traffic from the town, improve safety and mobility and provide a more efficient hurricane evacuation route.
“The Corrigan Relief Route is a new portion of U.S. 59, built to interstate standards, intended to eventually be designated part of Interstate 69,” Tim Monzingo, a spokesman of TxDOT's Lufkin District, told Construction Equipment Guide. “Its intent is to improve safety and mobility around the town and provide a more efficient hurricane evacuation route. The controlled-access highway offers an alternative route for through traffic, making the thoroughfare through the city — which will be designated as Business Route 59 — safer for residents and visitors.”
The freeway will have two 12-ft.-wide concrete lanes in each direction, a median, outer shoulders, drainage infrastructure and 19 bridges. Continuous frontage roads are not planned, although limited frontage road access will be available in some locations.
Median configurations will vary, with some sections featuring 2-ft. interior shoulders and concrete barriers. Areas east of U.S. 287 will have 6-ft. interior shoulders and 36-ft. unpaved medians. The route extends approximately 3.4 mi. north and 2.3 mi. south of U.S. 287 in Corrigan.
Improving Traffic Flow, Safety
Average daily traffic through Corrigan was estimated at 17,000 vehicles in 2025. TxDOT expects that number to exceed 26,000 vehicles daily by 2055.
“This project won't reconfigure the physical road through Corrigan,” he added. “Instead, the existing road will be designated as BU 59 and will better serve the appropriate traffic volumes.”
The project was the largest ever let in TxDOT's Lufkin District at the time of bidding.
CivilCorp provided schematic design and preliminary engineering and prepared plans, specifications and estimates for the freeway and bridges. TxDOT targets a 50-year service life for new concrete installations.
Earthwork, Site Preparation
JCG began clearing and grubbing when construction started, completing the work within a few months. Crews used excavators, dozers, skid steers, loaders and other equipment from John Deere, Cat and additional manufacturers to clear wooded areas and prepare the site.
Excavation generated nearly 600,000 cu. yds. of material, primarily clay and topsoil. More than 1 million cu. yds. of embankment was placed, with between 400,000 and 500,000 cu. yds. of additional material brought in.
“Where possible, most of the excavated material is reused as embankment,” Monzingo said. “Topsoil would be stockpiled for later use, but any unsuitable material would be removed as soon as possible.”
GPS technology helped crews meet grading and site preparation specifications. Precast box and pipe culverts, cross-drainage structures, storm drainage and median inlets were installed as work progressed.
“Cross drainage structures, such as culverts, were placed throughout the project as prep work was completed,” Monzingo said. “Storm drainage and median inlets were also included. Precast box and pipe culverts are often preferred for drainage structures.”
Stormwater management and environmental protection were major considerations as crews cleared previously undisturbed wooded areas. Wetlands and other environmentally sensitive locations had to remain undisturbed, while areas designated for temporary construction impacts must be restored.
“The main challenge was containing our runoff,” Monzingo said. “We have a strict set of requirements when it comes to stormwater pollution prevention, and we also maintain communication with our contractor partners to add and augment our prevention plan whenever necessary.
“Additionally, as we were clearing lots of previously undisturbed wooded areas, limiting environmental impacts was a top priority.”
Felled trees were collected and sold to third-party processors for use in paper, lumber and other products.
“Timber is a big industry in this region,” Monzingo said, “and the opportunity to contribute to the livelihoods of our neighbors is something we try to do whenever possible.”
Concrete Pavement, Bridge Construction
The main lanes consist of two 12-ft.-wide lanes in each direction. The pavement structure includes 12 in. of cement-treated subgrade, 4 in. of dense-grade hot-mix bondbreaker and 13 in. of continuously reinforced concrete pavement.
Crews frequently placed concrete at night, using slipform pavers and other standard paving equipment. Production routinely exceeded 3,000 sq. yds. per night. JCG established a portable concrete batch plant on-site to supply paving operations and store materials.
“Concrete was often placed at night,” Monzingo said. “Curing time can vary greatly, but concrete may set and be able to be walked on as soon as eight hours. However, to satisfy TxDOT requirements, concrete is not considered cured unless meeting specified compressive strength of 3,600 PSI at seven days and 4,000 PSI at 28 days. Most operations met 28-day strength requirements at the 7-day mark.”
The 19 bridges include structures at U.S. 59 and U.S. 287, Union Springs Road, two Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) crossings and Dry Creek, along with additional drainage crossings.
The U.S. 59 overpass over U.S. 287 is 3,000 ft. long and has 28 spans. The two railroad bridges measure 1,300 ft. and 2,162 ft. long, with 10 and 19 spans, respectively. The Dry Creek bridge is 630 ft. long and has six spans.
Bridge construction follows standard TxDOT designs. Most structures use precast, prestressed concrete beams, while steel girders were selected for the railroad crossings to accommodate longer spans.
“For the bridges crossing UPRR, we made use of steel girders,” Monzingo said. “Using steel allowed us to span longer distances between bents, though the designs were more complex.”
Crews generally install drilled shafts, abutment caps, columns and bent caps before placing beams and constructing bridge decks and railings. Approximately 90 percent of the bridge structures were cast in place.
A Manitowoc 2250 crane with a spreader bar lifted large steel beams near the U.S. 59 intersection. Two cranes were required to set beams at the northern UPRR crossing.
“Placing the beams is typically done quickly, requiring only a few minutes to move it from the ground to the columns by crane, as was the case when installing the steel beams at U.S. 59,” Monzingo said, “however, due to the size of the beams at UPRR north, this operation took closer to an hour, maybe 1.5 hours to complete.”
Precast deck panels fill the spaces between beams. Reinforcing steel varies by application, while TX54 beams incorporate prestressing cables.
Crews are constructing several bridges simultaneously, sometimes working from both ends of a structure. Railroad coordination is essential to maintaining safe operations near active tracks.
“TxDOT's Construction Engineering and Inspection firm, BGI Inc. and a third-party contractor hired by the railroad, along with the contractor,” Monzingo said, “had weekly meetings to discuss upcoming construction near the railways. If work was to be performed over the railway, the railroad was notified well ahead of time, and flaggers were implemented to ensure the safety of everyone involved.”
Project Challenges, Remaining Work
An unexpected rock formation required crews to remove 18,800 cu. yds. of rock using methods uncommon in the region.
“During construction, we encountered a large area of rock that we didn't initially know was a part of the terrain,” Monzingo said. “We had to remove 18,800 cu. yds. of rock from the project using methods that aren't common for our region. We're pretty much right on schedule. Our contractor continues to perform excellently to deliver a quality road, despite challenges that arise with a project of this scale.
JCG has completed clearing and grubbing, extensive site preparation and several miles of roadway and bridge construction, including associated drainage infrastructure. Remaining work will focus on completing the freeway, bridges and related systems.
The project also includes high-mast lighting, traffic monitoring systems and digital message boards, along with the electrical infrastructure needed to operate them.
JCG's management team includes Project Manager Mark Willis, Project Engineers Nasser Jaber and Emily Hale and Regional Manager Amber Basonic.
Major subcontractors include Eagle Construction and Texas Materials.
Equipment maintenance remains important during the extensive earthwork, paving and bridge operations.
“JCG can usually have repairs done within a few hours,” Monzingo said. “Proactive preventative maintenance can save countless hours rather than letting equipment fall into disrepair and trying to get it going again.”
JCG buys and rents equipment through providers including Doggett Equipment Services, Sunbelt Rentals and United Rentals.
