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Voters to Decide Fate of $1.6B Project in April
TxDOT photo
By Lori Tobias
CEG CORRESPONDENT
The first phase of construction is under way on a challenging project to turn an 8-mi. stretch of U.S. 281 in San Antonio from an often-congested highway to a speedier expressway.
Phase 1 of San Antonio Project Sets Record By Chuck Harvey
CEG CORRESPONDENT
The first phase of construction is under way on a challenging project to turn an 8mi. stretch of U.S. 281 in San Antonio from an often-congested highway to a speedier expressway. Crews will widen and build numerous improvements along the section that runs north and south through a fast-growing part of the city. Cost of the first phase is estimated at $192 million, which is by far the largest highway construction contract for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in the San Antonio region.
TxDOT plans to improve the section of U.S. 281 that runs from Loop 1604 to Borgfeld Drive in Bexar County. Work will be done in two phases. The engineer estimate for the Phase 2 is $182 million. The U.S. 281 North project involves the construction of non-toll general purpose lanes, HOV-Transit Lanes and frontage roads. Bicycle and pedestrian facilities also will be provided. The U.S. 281 improvements will connect directly to and from VIA Metropolitan Transit’s new U.S. 281 Park and Ride at Stone Oak Parkway. Roadway improvements include two general purpose lanes and one HOV lane in each direction; necessary transition and
auxiliary lanes; and remaining four interchange direct connectors at Loop 1604. The project phases are based on segments of the highway project: • Phase 1 is from Loop 1604 to North of Stone Oak Parkway — construction began in 2017 — and is scheduled to open to traffic in 2020. • Phase 2 is from north of Stone Oak Parkway to Borgfeld Drive — construction begins in 2019 — and is scheduled to open to traffic in 2022. Phase 1 Contractor for Phase 1 is Webber LLC see TXDOT page 14
Texas transportation officials are hoping to soon get the green light on a badly needed $1.6 billion interstate project. But politics have stalled the LBJ East widening plans and it’s unclear when it might move forward. “What you have is local elected officials under federal law responsible for delivering state transportation up against some state elected officials who have funding from very conservative interests in the state,” said Michael Morris, director of the North Texas Regional Transportation Council. “Basically, across the state of Texas all the toll projects were put on hold. Everything was just put on hold.” The project involves about 10 miles on I-635 — AKA LBJ East — which runs from U.S. 75 to I-30. It is the last phase of a highway project that has been going on for 20 years. The existing highway, which currently includes a toll lane, is outdated and in need of alignment. It is the highest congestion relief priority for the RTC. “In Texas we like continuous frontage roads,” Morris said. “If an incident occurs on the freeway, cars can exit, get off the freeway and continue on their way. This has no frontage road. Coming out of 75, it heads due east, then turns southeast and by 30 runs almost south. It’s in the corner of a regional loop. The interchanges have to be modsee LBJ page 14
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Page 4 • April 1, 2018 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Texas State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
West Texas Equipment Dealers Could Benefit From Midland’s $100M Upgrades By Lori Tobias CEG CORRESPONDENT
A pair of propositions approved by voters in Midland, Texas, last November will provide $100 million to upgrade the city’s streets and infrastructure and may send new business to heavy equipment dealers in West Texas. Supporters said it’s a muchneeded move to improving the rapidly growing city with a long list of failing roads. Bee Equipment, of Lubbock, already sends equipment to the area and expects to benefit from the approved bond package, said general manager Everett Monroe. But the benefits will extend beyond equipment dealers. “It should create jobs, stimulate their economy,” Monroe said. “I’m sure it will approve their road, water and sewer. Not a whole lot of voters came out, but the ones that did definitely voted for it.” Kirk Daniels, general manager of Cisco Equipment in Odessa, doesn’t expect to see an increase in business
fields are growing. I have no doubt that the traffic has increased. The more traffic, the more problems you have with the roads. Oil field traffic is a problem because it is heavy trucks carrying heavy loads. They are moving like ants with a fever. We just wear out the road. It’s difficult to get people to move out here and want to live here, so our labor pool suffers. If we have any ugly town and beat up streets, just compounds the problem. Cleaning up the roads means you can bring in a better quality of laborers.” The $100 million combines $74.09 million from Everett Monroe Proposition A for street Bee Equipment improvement with $25.91 for water and sewer system community, it is obviously a benefit for improvements. Proposition A was favored by 57 everyone. The explosion of growth in the population out here in the last 10 percent of voters, while nearly 60 peryears is incredible. Living out here as cent approved Proposition B, accordlong as I have — 25 years — and see- ing to the Midland Reporter-Telegram. (This story also can be found on ing the growth of houses and new subdivisions and buildings and condos Construction Equipment Guide’s and apartments and grocery stores, it’s website at www.constructionequipbeen incredible and it is because the oil mentguide.com.) CEG since most of their equipment is utilized by the oil industry. But he believes the city’s investment will help many businesses in a number of ways. “Midland/Odessa is just a large oil field area for West Texas,” Daniels said. “Any time we can improve our
“...Not a whole lot of voters came out, but the ones that did definitely voted for it.”
Terex Utilities Team Members Assist At-Risk Youth
Terex Utilities team members from across the nation traveled to Houston, Texas, for the company’s annual sales and service training meeting in January. While in Texas, 85 employees teamed up with the company’s San Antoniobased service center to get involved in two local community organizations that serve at-risk youth. For one of the projects, 16 bikes were purchased and assembled for Therapeutic Family Life (TFL), a foster-care agency. The other project involved packing 100 personal hygiene kits for Boysville Inc., a home for boys and girls who cannot remain in their own home due to abuse, neglect, abandonment or family disruption. “We became aware of Therapeutic Family Life because our technician, Billie Alaquinez, has fostered more than 20 n’t started yet. Not only has the project been delayed, but the cost has doubled since it was first authorized from $188 mil- children and adopted six through TFL. And, Boysville is a lion to more than $327 million. This widening and deepen- well-known charitable organization in the San Antonio area ing project is not only important to Corpus Christi, but the located just a short distance from our branch,” said Daniel entire country, as the port is the largest energy exporter in the Horton, branch manager. According to Boysville, children arrive at all hours of the nation. I’m hopeful strong testimony from stakeholders like the Port of Corpus Christi will lead to changes in Corp day often with only the clothes they are wearing. Clothes, processes and federal funding for public works and infra- hygiene items, and toys are some of the basic everyday things that make a big difference to children in need. Less structure projects.” The Port of Corpus Christi and USACE signed a Project than 24 hours after delivering the kits, McKenzie Radzik, Partnership Agreement for the deepening and widening of Boysville development associate said they were already the Corpus Christi Ship Channel on Sept. 9, 2017. The CIP going out to kids. For more information, visit tflife.org and was recently included in President Trump’s FY’19 Budget in recognition of the growing demand for U.S. energy exports. boysvilletexas.org. Making citizenship a priority at the annual sales meeting The completion of the CIP will allow the Port to accommohas become a tradition at Terex Utilities. “We are proud to date larger vessels and increase export volumes of U.S. oil and natural gas, supporting the nation’s allies abroad and support local organizations in communities where Terex team members live and work,” said Jim Lohan, VP sales and bolstering domestic energy production. marketing. For more information, visit portcorpuschristi.com/. (This story also can be found on Construction (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequip- Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.) mentguide.com.)
Port of Corpus Christi CEO Testifies About USACE, Improving Infrastructure Port of Corpus Christi CEO Sean Strawbridge testified on March 6 before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s Subcommittee on the Interior, Energy and Environment in a hearing titled, “Examining the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).” Strawbridge advocated for necessary funding and proposed ways for the USACE to improve delivery of crucial infrastructure projects such as the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project (CIP). “As the federal government considers policy changes in the spirit of improving our nation’s infrastructure, Port of Corpus Christi has sizable experience with how to best implement these changes,” said Strawbridge. “Federal Ship Channels are the main arteries for moving American products to international markets, and the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project is at the heart of exporting American energy and achieving global energy dominance.” “The Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project is a prime example of an important Army Corps of Engineers project that has been delayed over and over again,” said Congressman Blake Farenthold. “This project was first proposed nearly 30 years ago, but construction has-
(L-R) are Dan Horton, Terex Utilities; Cynthia Herrera, TFL; Melissa Garcia, TFL; Sue Perkins, Terex Utilities; and Billie Alaquinez, Terex Utilities.
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • April 1, 2018 • Page 5
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Page 6 • April 1, 2018 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Texas State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Link-Belt TCCs Deliver for Challenging TEXRail Project TEXRail is a 27.2 mi. commuter rail system that will operate between downtown Fort Worth, Texas, in Tarrant County and DFW International Airport. Contract for the project was awarded to jointventure Archer Western-Herzog for $998 million. Davis Motor Crane Service of Irving, Texas, was selected as the contractor for bridge beam placement. “We needed a solution for a 250-ton class crane that could walk with a load. Multiple rail closures and tight setups also meant that we could not use a crane that needed the time and space to set outriggers. The final requirement was a crane that gave us the necessary headroom clearance under existing overpasses,” said Wes Dowd, operations superintendent of Davis Crane Service.
“Adding the TCC-1100 was an eye opener to the telecrawler market for us. We quickly saw the advantages. So when the TCC2500 came available we did our homework and checked and double checked our measurements and added it to our fleet. We feel that both of these cranes really give us an advantage to deliver on the unique hoisting needs of our customers,” said Dowd.
Placing new beams for TEXRail below eight lanes of TX 280, parallel to and above active Union Pacific rail lines may have been more appropriately dubbed “threading the needle.”
Peach Yard “We first began in Peach Yard, just northeast of downtown Fort Worth, and worked south from Chocktaw Bridge setting beams parallel to the existing BNSF and Union Pacific line,” said Dowd. Tandem picks were made with two Link-Belt telescopic crawler cranes: the 250-ton (230-t) TCC-
2500 and 110-ton (100-t) TCC1100. The cranes lifted at a steady pace of 16 beams per day on four consecutive days in order to complete the section adjacent to Peach Yard. Right-of-way space required by existing rail companies meant that Davis Cranes had a narrow boundary zone to setup, unload and place the 90 ft. (27.4 m) long, 98,000 lb. (44,452 kg) beams. “We started out with trucks coming in here close to the rail
with the TCC-1100 and TCC-2500 tying into the beams. Because of the small road we had to coordinate how to get the cranes in here, position with the trucks, and then set the beams,” said Lucas Williams, Davis Cranes TCC-2500 operator. “The TCC-2500 is easy to operate; multiple list charts come in handy where we may be flat one minute and then 1, 2 or 3 degrees off the next move around these pier caps.”
Segment 2 The 27.2 mi. project has been broken down into three sections with Segment 2 considered the most tedious and difficult and also the shortest — less than 4 mi. in length. Segment 2 begins at the existing Texas and Pacific Station and winds through downtown stopping at the ITC Station. From there it passes through a highly technical spot called the “hole in see TEXRAIL page 15
The final requirement was a crane that gave us the necessary headroom clearance under existing overpasses,” said Wes Dowd, operations superintendent of Davis Crane Service.
The 27.2 mi. project has been broken down into three sections with Segment 2 considered the most tedious and difficult and also the shortest — less than 4 mi. in length.
“Because of the small road we had to coordinate how to get the cranes in here, position with the trucks, and then set the beams,” said Lucas Williams, Davis Cranes TCC-2500 operator.
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • April 1, 2018 • Page 7
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On March 13, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) joined Caldwell County Precinct 2 Commissioner Eddie Moses and Luling City Manager Mark Mayo, along with other local officials and engineers, as they celebrated the beginning of construction on the U.S. 183 at I-10 intersections project. “We are excited to start this much-needed project that will improve safety and mobility for all area travelers,� Kevin Dickey, Austin deputy district engineer said. “We know this work will transform U.S. 183 at I-10 into a safer, more efficient intersection.� Work on the $1.8 million project includes adding a new U-turn lane from the eastbound I-10 frontage road to the westbound I10 entrance ramp, adding a second through lane in each direction on U.S. 183, and
adding left-turn lanes from U.S. 183 onto the I-10 frontage roads. “I want to commend TxDOT for taking the initiative to expand capacity along U.S. 183, while also adding much-needed turn lanes for those getting onto I-10,� Moses said. “If you’re out here on the weekend, especially spring break, or anytime else, this place can be a mad house,� said Mayo. “Allowing two lanes of traffic flowing in both directions on U.S. 183 will be a tremendous help.� The project contractor, Dean Word Company, is starting work this month, and is expected to complete the project in the fall of 2018. For more information, visit TxDOT.gov. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
AGC of Texas Receives Award The AGC of Texas was awarded for organizing a hurricane relief fund for the maintenance crews of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). As a result, the group was named the AGC in the Community Award Chapter Winner by the charitable arm of the Associated General Contractors of America, AGC Charities Inc. “These awards remind us that while contractors may have hard jobs,� said Mike Anderson, chairman of AGC Charities and senior vice president at American Global LLC, “they also have soft hearts.� Many employees of the Texas Department of Transportation suffered damaged homes and property because of Hurricane Harvey. In response, the AGC of Texas and its members raised nearly $900,000 for the TxDOT Cares Charitable Fund, which supports the 200 TxDOT
employees and their families who suffered a partial or complete loss of their homes because of the storm. The chapter created a three-tiered funding approach, which allowed for contributions by the AGC members and the chapter, as well as Texans across the state who were alerted to the fundraising project and wanted to help. AGC in the Community Award winners are selected by a panel of judges representing all areas of construction. Award entries were evaluated based on the level of commitment, the scope of the philanthropic efforts and the quality of the benefits to the community. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • April 1, 2018 • Page 9
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Union Pacific Boosts Transportation Infrastructure With $450M Investment Texas’s transportation infrastructure will receive a $450 million boost from Union Pacific Railroad in 2018. The company’s planned private investment will enhance safety, operating efficiency and support customer service. Union Pacific builds and maintains its track without taxpayer funds and its trains reduce traffic on Texas’s congested highways. A single Union Pacific train can carry as much freight as 300 trucks and move one ton of freight 452 miles on a single gallon of diesel, generating a carbon footprint that is 75 percent less than trucks. Union Pacific’s private investments sustain jobs and ensure the company meets growing demand for products used in the American economy. The company’s planned investment covers a range of initiatives, including $320 million to maintain railroad track and $94 million to maintain bridges in the state. Key projects planned this year include: • $17 million investment in the rail line between Ranger and Sweetwater to replace 115,469 railroad ties and install 54,273 tons of rock ballast. • $14 million investment in the rail line between Raymondville and Robstown to replace 116,091 railroad ties and install 72,346 tons of rock ballast.
This year’s planned $450 million capital expenditure in Texas is part of the company’s ongoing investment strategy. In the last five years, 2013-2017, Union Pacific invested more than $2.3 billion strengthening Texas’s transportation infrastructure. Additionally, in February Union Pacific announced construction on Brazos Yard in Robertson County, Texas. This $550 million facility represents the largest capital investment in a single facility for the company and is scheduled for completion in 2020. “Our targeted investments support customers and enhance our efficiency to deliver the goods American businesses and families use daily,” said Brenda Mainwaring, Union Pacific assistant vice president — public affairs, Southern Region. Teams have burned an estimated 72,000 cu. yds. of vegUnion Pacific plans to spend $3.3 billion across its net- etative debris in Aransas County. work this year, following investments totaling approximately $34 billion from 2008-2017. For more information, visit www.up.com. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
Aransas County Completes Debris $550M Construction Project Begins Mitigation Goals at Brazos Yard in Robertson County Union Pacific Railroad recently began construction on its Brazos Yard in Robertson County, Texas. The $550 million rail yard represents the largest capital investment in a single facility in the company's 155-year history. Brazos Yard will have the capacity to switch up to 1,300 rail cars per day, making it one of the highest capacity yards on Union Pacific's 23-state network. As the first yard of its kind to be built in more than a generation, it will showcase best practices in operating efficiency, technology and innovation. The project is expected to create between 500 and 550 constructionrelated jobs, drawing on workers from the immediate area and from across Texas. A study completed by Texas A&M University's Engineering Extension Service predicted the completed yard will contribute almost $260 million in annual total output for the state of Texas. Completion is estimated in 2020. “Brazos Yard will play an important role in helping Union Pacific’s men and women provide excellent service to our customers that represent a wide variety of economic drivers,” said Lance Fritz,
Union Pacific chairman, president and CEO. “It also will improve efficiency and fluidity across our entire rail network.” “This project has been an important part of Union Pacific’s planning for several years as we’ve monitored customer demand and economic growth across the region,” said Brenda Mainwaring, Union Pacific’s assistant vice-president Public Affairs. “Based on current demand and building for future freight transportation needs, Union Pacific is making our largest capital investment in the Texas Brazos Valley.” Brazos Yard will function as a clas-
sification yard where rail cars are separated and sorted by destination before being assembled into new trains headed across the country. The site sits at the convergence of seven Union Pacific rail lines, making it a strategic point for freight rail traffic travelling north, south, east, and west. Brazos Yard will support Union Pacific’s customers that represent a wide variety of economic drivers across Texas, including cross border traffic, petrochemicals, consumer goods and plastics. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
On February 14, 2018, the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) and the Texas A&M Forest Service (TFS) officially completed their vegetative debris mitigation mission in Aransas County. As a result of completing these objectives, TEEX and TFS personnel and equipment will demobilized from Aransas County back to home units on Feb. 15. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and TFS initiated trench burning operations in Refugio County on Oct. 13, 2017. TEEX, TFS, and TxDOT partnered to begin burning vegetative debris in Rockport on Oct 15, 2017, with two Air Curtain Incinerator (ACI) units supplied by Hidalgo County. The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) purchased six new ACI units that were used to complete the vegetative debris burning operation in Aransas County. With personnel provided by TFS, TEEX, and TxDOT, vegetative debris mitigation in Aransas and Refugio Counties has been an extremely successful effort. As of Feb. 14, debris burning operations have been conducted for 106 days over a four-month period. Teams have burned an estimated 72,000 cu. yds. of vegetative debris in Aransas County, and that amounts to 360,000 tons of vegetative debris mitigated. TFS and TxDOT managed trench burning operations in Refugio County to burn an estimated 10,300 cu. yds. of vegetative debris. The cumulative estimated totals for vegetative debris burning in Aransas and Refugio Counties is 82,500 cu. yds. The combined total effort averaged 3,868 tons of vegetative debris burned per day. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • April 1, 2018 • Page 11
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Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • April 1, 2018 • Page 13
Page 14 • April 1, 2018 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Texas State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
$192M U.S. 281 Project Is Largest Ever Fate of LBJ East San Antonio Region Contract for TxDOT Project Lies in Hands of Voters TXDOT from page 1
of The Woodlands, Texas. It is a traditional bid-build project. Webber currently has 25 named subcontractors for the project. Levy Co. of San Antonio is the electrical subcontractor and holds about 7.2 percent of the total contract. Royal Vista Inc. of Liberty Hill, Texas, is doing utilities work and holds about 4.5 percent of the total contract. TxDOT contracted with VRX, Inc. of Plano, Texas, to serve as manager, engineer and inspector for the project. “We’re converting U.S. 281 from a divided highway with signalized intersections to an expressway with overpasses,” Donat said. “We’re also completing the interchange of Loop 1604 and U.S. 281 by constructing the four direct connectors that will service traffic on Loop 1604 north of U.S. 281. The final product will have three frontage road lanes in each direction, two express lanes in each direction and one HOV lane in each direction — a total of 12 lanes, or six total lanes each way.” Current work also includes moving of some utilities including telecommunication and gas lines.
Phase 2 Bids This Summer “The next phase is set to bid this summer and will continue from Stone Oak Parkway and go through Borgfeld,” said Josh Donat, public information officer for Texas Department of Transportation. The project will turn the north-south highway that bisects the city into a sixlane expressway between Loop 1604 and Stone Oak Parkway, a heavily-congested part of the highway. None of the lanes will be tolled. Heavy Equipment Heavy equipment includes bulldozers, font-end loaders, hydraulic compactors, track hoes, back hoes, milling machines, road graders, drill rigs, cranes, haul trucks, pickup trucks and dump trucks. Crews will lay about 266,907 sq. yds. of concrete along the 8-mi. section, covering 217,342 sq. yds. The project includes quite a bit of excavation and will require backfill. The ground is hard and composed
LBJ from page 1
TxDOT photo
TxDOT plans to improve the section of U.S. 281 that runs from Loop 1604 to Borgfeld Drive in Bexar County.
mostly of limestone rock. “We rip through that hard ground with pneumatic hammers, milling machines and harrows attached to powerful bulldozers,” Donat said. “Once the stone is torn up and ground down, we turn to traditional digging equipment to move the material as needed.” Daytime Travel Project officials said they will try to keep the same number of lanes open during the day that are open now, during the improvement project. Planned lane closures are limited to overnight hours between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., Monday through Thursday. No overnight closures are planned for Fridays. Officials said there will be occasional weekend-long closures, however. “Our goal through the duration of construction is to maintain the level of service folks currently enjoy at each stage of work,” Donat said. “We have hefty lane closure restrictions, ensuring we don’t have any daytime closures on the main lines of the highways during the peak traffic time frames.” Busy Corridor The eight-mile stretch of highway is one of busiest corridors in Texas. “It’s our most-congested corridor in the San Antonio region, ranking no. 23 in Texas,” Donat said. “This is a project we’ve been trying to get going for more than a decade as the Stone Oak region develops. About 20 years ago virtually no development existed out there, so the growth has been pretty huge.” U.S. 281 has grown increasingly
congested over the past decade as numerous new businesses and homes have been built beside the highway. “Ultimately the project is about relieving congestion and getting Texans moving,” Donat said. But drivers also will find cost savings in having the new expressway in place. Less time idling in traffic means less gasoline purchased. “The improved access will almost certainly mean improved traffic flow to the businesses in the area,” Donat said. Long-Range Planning The U.S. 281 improvement project has officially been in TxDOT’s plans since 2000, but a funding shortage stalled it. In 2004 the state decided to use tolling of the new freeway lanes to help fund the project. That was followed by lawsuits by toll opponents and environmentalists over the next 10 years. The project bounded forward in 2015 when the Texas Transportation Commission voted to remove the toll lane configuration from the U.S. 281 North Improvement Project. Another milestone followed in February 2017 when Webber LLC was selected by the TxDOT as contractor for Phase 1 of the project. With funds approved for a non-toll highway, TxDOT was able to select a design team in December 2015. The design team completed designs for Phase 1 in 2016. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.) CEG
ernized because the interchanges don’t line up. All the interchanges are in wrong location.” The project takes the interstate from four freeway lanes in each direction to five freeway lanes plus a toll lane in each direction. Morris blames the hold up on outside interests who support state political candidates. “These are conservative, rural, Libertarian people. Why wouldn’t you be the supporter of these toll lanes? You are not increasing taxes. It’s a choice. They live somewhere else, they are wealthy. They pay money to state elected officials. It’s not like they live in our region.” The Interstate project was a key issue in the recent Texas Senate Republican Primary. In a report by NBCDFW.com, incumbent state Senator Bob Hall was quoted as saying, “I was opposed to it being a toll road. I was supportive of it being the road that we need to get built next. The money is there without any impact on any other program, and it will be done without it being a toll road. We’ve been on this crack cocaine of fixing roads called toll roads.” His opponent, state Representative Cindy Burkett supported the project. She lost the primary to Hall. But while the subject seems to be controversial among political candidates, Morris says it’s very popular with the public. “The people who travel this road are very emotional in a positive sense of moving this along,” he said. “We never had citizens more supportive of something we’re doing. We’ll hold a town hall meeting and 400 people will show up. At one town hall meeting, 345 voted to do what we want to do. Five voted against it. One of them was a state elected official.” Opponents of the project say the tolls paid by one driver will equal the cost of college tuition over the course of their life. But Morris said drivers on a nearby toll lane pay an average of about $10 a month. “People choose when to use it,” Morris said. “You can decide. Our citizens say we want a corridor of choice. We don’t want that stop and go traffic. By building a toll managed lane, if you want to, you can go in that lane or the frontage road. If you want a more reliable option, you can go on the express lanes. There are steps I laid out to the board — you’re elected officials, go have conversations with state elected officials and see if we can proceed with the $1.6 billion project. The staff will go through multiple ways this project can be funded. What is important is that the state is holding up the design-build contract. The state can only issue three a year. This is where engineering and construction come together. The engineers and construction companies will partner in innovative ways to compete against each other and bid on the project. Maybe there was a lot of jockeying in the primary, but that is behind us. We’ll be encouraging the commission to move forward in April and issue design build contract.” (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.) CEG
Construction Equipment Guide • Texas State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • April 1, 2018 • Page 15
TEXRail Project Receives a Lift From Link-Belt TEXRAIL from page 6
the wall” where four Union Pacific and Burlington Southern Santa Fe rail lines and eight lanes of TX 280 all intersect. After that it travels north up to Peach Yard before crossing Choctaw Bridge and east over the Trinity River. “Of the three segments Segment 2 is easily the most complicated,” said Joseph Coke, quality control inspector of joint-venture Archer Western-Herzog. “Taking into account the existing right of way from the other rail companies, crossing multiple bridges — both over and under, and adding to that maneuvering around existing utilities to form foundations for the piers in spots where the rail is elevated — this stretch north of downtown has kept us busy,” said Coke. “Hole in the Wall” Placing new beams for TexRail below eight lanes of TX 280, parallel to and above active Union Pacific rail lines may have been more appropriately dubbed “threading the needle.” In order to place four 68 ft. long, 120,000 lb. concrete box beams below TX 280 and above an active Union Pacific rail line meant first closing the Union Pacific line for a four hour window from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. “They backed the beams down the hill as far as they could over the tracks and then I scoped out with the TCC-2500 and the TCC-1100 grabbed hold on his side as we lifted up,” said Williams. Williams and Davis Crane Service had a very tight margin of room to work from with the overhead bridge at 48 ft. (14.6 m) above grade and the newly built pier caps at 22 ft. (6.7 m). “We worked together to lift up, suck in, boom up and track back so that we could clear the caps to get the booms set because we had probably five or six feet of head clearance on top by the time we got the beams on top of the caps. The beams had to be set in about two and a half hours so the contactor could come in and pull the boards off the rails,” said Williams. According to Williams one of the most difficult parts of the “hole in the wall” job was actually travelling down the makeshift road to get down into the hole. “It was a really tight fit, and I didn’t have a whole lot of room to maneuver back and forth on my end. That’s why we put the bigger crane on my side so that I could reach across the tracks and grab the beams. The TCC-1100 had a little bit more room to walk back and forth if he had to. Pretty much once I got down in there I could only travel about 10 feet forward and backwards,” said Williams. “I’ve always been impressed with Link-Belt’s crawlers. Their lower has always been stout. I’ve run some other cranes and their torque won’t climb up hills or get through soft spots like these Link-Belts do. For more information, visit www.linkbelt.com. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
NEXT ISSUE CLOSES APRIL 19, 2018
Page 16 • April 1, 2018 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Texas State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
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