Posted on 02/13/2020 8:41:11 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
After years of work, the Interstate 35 reconstruction project in Bell County is pretty much done, while a similar project to widen Interstate 14 still has years of work ahead.
“Overall, the I-35 Reconstruction Project ... particularly in Waco, is continuing at an aggressive pace, well on track for a 2023 completion. Bell County work remains substantially complete with minor ‘punch list’ items such as completion of the Temple Welcome Monument and the standard establishment of vegetation along the corridor within the Temple/Troy area remaining, prior to final acceptance of the project,” Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Ken Roberts said in a recent email.
It’s all part of a longtime statewide project to widen I-35 to at least three lanes in each direction from San Antonio to Dallas.
For Bell County, a big part of the project was taking place in Temple from 2013 until last August, when Temple officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony signifying the end of major construction on the project.
When the I-35 plans were working their way through the state bureaucracy, Temple leadership saw it as an opportunity to improve the community’s look to the drivers and passengers of the 111,000 vehicles that travel through the city each day, officials said.
The Temple portion of the reconstruction project was 7.5 miles and cost $241 million.
In May 2013, when construction was set to begin, it was the single largest contract ever for construction by the Waco District, that number has since been eclipsed by the 5.8-mile, $341 million, I-35 reconstruction project now underway in Waco.
The multi-year project included widening the main lanes of the highway through Temple to four lanes in each direction, along with the rebuilding of all bridges, except South Loop 363 and North Loop 363, according to TxDOT.
(Excerpt) Read more at kdhnews.com ...
PING.
Thanks for the ping, Tol. I got caught recently in the I-35 work in Waco - it sucked! I think one lane each way. At least with other projects, they try a bit harder to keep a decent number of lanes open.
I-5 thru Tacoma Wa has been under construction for 16 years...with 2 more to go. Recently the DOT announced they were not happy with how one of the off ramps is working so they are going to revise it...for $24M.Another 2 years making this a 20 year project!
Lol! Keeping the contractors and unions (and bureaucrats’ offshore accounts) fed is the most important thing. Decent roads is the afterthought.
I lived in Austin in the early 80’s and they always called it IH-35. (Interstate Highway)
They no longer call Interstates IH?
The labels/signs still say that sometimes but mostly it is “I-{number of highway}” in Texas. If the I prefix is even used, which is a coin toss.
California dropped the I prefix and just calls them by number, but puts “the” in front of them : “The 101” “The 5”, etc., etc.
Lets see a new bike lane and a HOV lane!!!
Have not driven on IH-35 in over 4 years, have a back roads route to DFW where most of my family lives.
Cripes, that money would have been better spent widening I-35 to four lanes in the Austin area. Much more traffic down here.
Maybe Killeen has a Yankee infestation nowadays.
I also remember seeing FM (Farm to Market) roads. I imagine yankees want to get rid of those names as well.
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