Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Change orders for SH-130 have increased the cost by $52.5 million.

LSI identifies new toll-road crossings

8/30/05

By Kurt Johnson
Taylor Daily Press
Copyright 2005

Additional details regarding the construction of SH-130, the new toll road that will cross Williamson and Travis Counties, have been announced.

Lone Star Infrastructure (LSI), the consortium of contractors building the project, and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), have identified the status of the roads that will cross the northern half of the toll road.

According to a report issued by LSI last week, Segment 2, which runs from just north of US 79 north of Hutto to just south of US 290 east of Austin, will be the first segment to be completed by the fall of 2007.

Three of the crossings in Segment 2 are scheduled to be "highway interchanges," which are defined as "the convergence of two or more major roadways" in which there can be "multiple access options for frontage roads and mainlanes in all directions." The crossings in that category will be at US 79 just west of Hutto, SH 45 North about halfway between Hutto and Pflugerville, and US 290.

Seven crossings in Segment 2 are scheduled to be "major intersections," which are defined as providing "access to SH 130 in at least one direction via frontage roads and ramps."

These crossings are at FM 685 (twice), CR 138/Gattis School Road, Kelly Lane/Wilke Lane, Pfluger Lane, Pecan Street (Pflugerville), Cameron Road and Parmer Lane.

The kinds of intersections constructed at Wells Branch and Howard Lane haven't been determined, and the Gregg Manor Road intersection is in a category titled "frontage road access only," described as roadways that do not cross SH-130 but instead route traffic "onto the SH-130 frontage roads to another intersection with greater access options."

Nine crossings are scheduled for Segment 1, which runs from the SH 195 interchange north of Georgetown to north of US 79.

Highway Interchanges in this section will be at SH 195/I-35 and SH 29 east of Georgetown. Major Intersections are scheduled for crossings with FM 971, CR 104 and CR 109.

Three roadways in Segment 1 will cross under SH-130 but won't have access to the toll road. Those roadways are CR 152, CR 105 and CR 118.

The kind of interchange to be constructed at the future Chandler Road intersection hasn't been determined. The section of Chandler Road that crosses SH-130 about three miles north of US 79 is scheduled to be completed by late 2006 or early 2007.

The entire, seven-segment length of SH-130 totals about 49 miles and runs from north of Georgetown to Mustang Ridge between Austin and San Marcos and is now estimated to cost just more than $1.3 billion.

As of June 30, about 41 percent of the total budget had been spent, according to LSI.

Change orders to the original estimate have increased the cost by $52.5 million.

San Antonio Express-News: www.taylordailypress.net

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