la Frontera In the News

Round Rock Leader

June 5, 2003

Bid awarded for Texas 45

Secton including IH-35 interchange and La Frontera area Includes $1.7 million bonus if completed by July 14, 2006

by Michael Taylor, Leader Staff

The section of planned toll-road Texas 45 North that passes through Round Rock came a step closer to completion last week when the Texas Transportation Commission awarded a $103 million construction contract for the portion of the highway that will intersect with Interstate 35.

Chicago-based firm Archer-Western Contractors, Ltd. was the low bidder on the project, coming in at 17 percent under the $124 million cost Texas Department of Transportation engineers estimated for building the two-mile portion of Texas 45 stretching between County Road 170 in the east and County Road 172 in the west.

The six lane roadway and multi-level interchanges at I-35 will be the most substantial to date along the I-35 corridor in the city limits of Round Rock which has partnered with the state in building frontage road for Texas 45 in recent years along FM 1325.

Tom Word, Round Rock's director of public works, said that following the inconvenience of construction, the new corridor will be a boon to business development and quality of life in the community as the major east-west corridor between Texas 130 to the east of town all the way to U.S. 183 at RR 620 in Austin.

The intersection of I-35 and Texas 45 will be very attractive to businesses and he expects that development to stretch out along the Texas 45 corridor as the turnpike project takes shape.

"It puts us at the crossroads of two really important roads," Word said. "(People) will be able to get around and avoid the kinds of conflicts that a lot of other major urban areas have in terms of inadequate transportation facilities."

Spokeswoman for TxDOT, Gabriela Garcia, said the contract marks the first time the department has used the particular package of incentives and disincentives to ensure a project's timely completion. The contractor will receive a bonus of $1.7 million if the project is completed by July 14, 2006, or $10,000 per day — for a maximum of 60 days — between completion and the September 2007 scheduled opening of the project.

If work on the project continues past the scheduled opening date, the contractor will have to pay $31,900 per day and to minimize lane closures on I-35 and Texas 45 frontage roads a lane rental fee will be charged. Construction is set to begin this summer.

Along with the northern 49 miles of Texas 130 and an extension of Loop 1 in Williamson County, Texas 45 North is part of the Central Texas Turnpike Project designed to increase mobility in the region. Work on the interchange of Texas 45 and Loop 1 is already underway and the entire turnpike project is scheduled for completion in December 2001.

The advantage of toll roads is their ability to stretch available funds for projects needed to increase capacity of Texas roads. Revenues generated by toll roads can be used to cover operations and some maintenance costs for roads. At a meeting of the Transportation Commission last week, TxDOT staff told commissioners that upon initial review, about one third of the $11.5 billion in projects slated for increasing capacity on area roads could be developed as toll roads. Officials at TxDOT said that more work will be done to determine the feasibility of specific projects and more studies will be conducted.

Contact Michael Taylor at 255-5827 or by e-mail at michael@rrleader.com.