TEXAS STATE EDITION
A Supplement to:
®
May 29 2016 Vol. XXVIII • No. 11
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.” Your Texas Connection • Dale Agnew, Carrollton, TX • 1-877-877-4997
MoPac Expressway: Quicker Commute, Pedestrian Friendly By Jennifer Rupp CEG CORRESPONDENT
MoPac is one of Austin’s most important arteries, serving as a key route to downtown and points beyond. As a primary alternative to Interstate 35, MoPac carries more than 180,000 cars and trucks each day. By 2030, MoPac is projected to serve more than 320,000 cars a day. The MoPac Improvement Project will give drivers the option to bypass congestion on the 11-mi. (18 km) stretch of MoPac between Parmer Lane and Cesar Chavez Street and get to their destination without delay. As Austin’s primary north-south route alternative to I-35, MoPac has long been identified as a heavily congested corridor in need of traffic solutions. In fact, additional High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) or Express Lanes on MoPac have been included in the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organizations (CAMPO) Long Range Transportation Plan since 1994. In 2010, after decades of debate about how to improve MoPac, the
Northbound retaining wall construction between Northwood and 35th Street.
Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority partnered with the Texas Department of Transportation to conduct a federal Environmental
Assessment of the corridor. Over two years the project team held dozens of community meetings and analyzed a wide range of
issues including roadway noise, historical properties and bicycle and pedestrian needs. The project team had limited options given a
community desire not to acquire additional land, take any homes or businesses or build any elevated structures. Given these constraints it was determined that Express Lanes were the best option to improve mobility in the corridor and meet the need and purpose of the project. In August 2012 the Federal Highway Administration completed its review of the Environmental Assessment and determined that construction could proceed. In fall 2012 the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority solicited proposals from companies to design and build the project and after scoring the proposals, selected CH2M HILL to complete the job. CH2M HILL is an international engineering and construction firm headquartered in Englewood, Colo. The firm was among seven that competed for the right to design and construct the MoPac Improvement Project. CH2M HILL was hired following an extensive competitive review process. The MoPac Improvement Project involves construction of see MOPAC page 18
Group Retraces Old Coast-to-Coast Highway Route By Gordon Dickson FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
STRAWN, Texas (AP) Bankhead Highway may be the most important road many Texans have never heard of. The coast-to-coast highway, which connected Washington, D.C., to San Diego — and stretched 850 mi. (1,368 km) through Texas, from Texarkana to El Paso — was vital to the development of not only major
cities such as Fort Worth and Arlington, but also smaller places such as Strawn that blossomed during the state’s oil, coal and railroad booms. It all began 100 years ago, when Congress approved funding for Bankhead Highway. Much of the road is still on the ground today, although it is known by many other names in various cities. Only a handful of places, including Aledo and Weatherford, still call it Bankhead
Highway or Bankhead Drive on street signs. In other cities, it was (and sometimes still is) known as U.S. 80, U.S. 67 or Texas 1. In west Fort Worth, it is Camp Bowie Boulevard. In Arlington, it’s Division Street. To celebrate the centennial of Bankhead Highway, a convoy of nearly 50 antique cars retraced the routes through Texas, making stops in Arlington and Fort Worth before passing through Weatherford, Mineral Wells and Strawn, where the drivers were to enjoy
a picnic before heading to Abilene. Often, the stretches of old Bankhead Highway run parallel to modern highways such as Texas 180 and U.S. 180, or interstates such as I-20. The interstate system, which now serves as the preferred route for most cars traversing Texas, has nearly banished Bankhead Highway to antiquity. “Bankhead Highway needs to be for North and Central Texas what Route 66 is see HIGHWAYS page 8