What does Fort Worth get in the $85 billion roadwork plan Gov. Abbott just announced?
The Texas Department of Transportation’s 10-year plan to improve roads across the state was adopted and will receive an unprecedented $85 billion in funding, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Aug. 30.
An additional $32 billion will be allocated for maintenance and project development.
“The state of Texas is working to ensure the transportation needs of our fast growing state are met and the safety of Texans on the roadways is protected,” Abbott said in a press release.
Texas has roughly 683,533 road miles crisscrossing some 268,597 square miles. Couple that with the 22.4 million registered cars in the state, it’s not hard to imagine the need for road improvements.
There are approximately 7,000 projects in the plan, known as the United Transportation Program. They are designed to improve roadway safety and ease congestion in high-traffic areas. Here are a few of the projects in the program:
- I-20 from Park Springs Boulevard to SH 161 — This proposal will reconstruct I-20, adding one lane in each direction from Park Springs Boulevard to SH 161 in Arlington. This project would also add some frontage roads. This project is under schematic and environmental assessment. Estimated construction cost is $434 million.
- The expansion of SH 360 in Tarrant County — This $233-million project has received Proposition 1 funding from the Texas Transportation Commission. It will provide a fully directional interchange at I-30 and SH 360 and will include the reconstruction and widening of the Six Flags Drive bridge over I-30 from two lanes to five lanes (three southbound lanes and two northbound lanes). The project was awarded to Williams Brothers Construction Co., Inc. of Houston in November 2015. This project is estimated for completion in 2023.
- Reconstruction of FM 3391 — This project will widen the road east of County Road 602 from two lanes to a four- to six-lane divided roadway with a raised curb center median. Estimated construction cost is $41 million. Project is currently not funded.
- US 377 relief route — This three-mile stretch of road just west of the city of Cresson will feature a new four-lane highway beginning one mile south of the intersection of US 377 and SH 171 and ending one mile north of the same intersection. Work on this $61 million project is estimated to be completed in Spring of 2023.
Construction of an interchange on FM 1810 at US 81/287 — This $47 million project will eliminate the at-grade crossings on US 81/287 from FM 1810 to US 380. Project is currently not funded.
According to the Unified Transportation Program 2023, some of the projects slated for the Fort Worth area include a new or reconstructed interchange on Interstate 820 stretching from the Trinity Railway Express line north of Trinity Boulevard to State Highway 10 and a southeast connector, also on 820, from Ramey Avenue to Brentwood Stair Road.
There are also plans to widen Interstate 20 from Little Road to Park Springs Boulevard and widen Interstate 30 from Linkcrest Drive to Interstate 820.
The United Transportation Program is updated annually. According to the press release, many of the projects are from Texas’ 100 Most Congested Roadways list.
