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[Thegeet]

XD, didn’t even notice the “grammatical error” effect! Why is that sign chopped off on the top though.

[Thegeet]

In other news, GSV on the new lanes of SH 44: https://goo.gl/maps/E4R6H8KEaNTUtMff8

[1]

I'm still not seeing the actual error that requires replacing.

[Thegeet]

I'm still not seeing the actual error that requires replacing.

The link that I posted contained a glitch by Google on one of the signs, and it looked like a misspelling of “Laredo” and “Solitary”.

[J N Winkler]

I'm still not seeing the actual error that requires replacing.

There is indeed a StreetView stitching error that goes away when you advance or retreat one step.  But the underlying legend is incorrect.  The sign says "Laredo Columbia Solitary Bridge"; the actual name of the facility is Laredo-Colombia Solidarity Bridge.

[Thegeet]

I'm still not seeing the actual error that requires replacing.

There is indeed a StreetView stitching error that goes away when you advance or retreat one step.  But the underlying legend is incorrect.  The sign says "Laredo Columbia Solitary Bridge"; the actual name of the facility is Laredo-Colombia Solidarity Bridge.

Oops. Big Google Translate moment.

[Rick Powell]

There is indeed a StreetView stitching error that goes away when you advance or retreat one step.  But the underlying legend is incorrect.  The sign says "Laredo Columbia Solitary Bridge"; the actual name of the facility is Laredo-Colombia Solidarity Bridge.

Well, there is only one of them, amirite?

[Fixed quote attribution. -S.]

[Thegeet]

Updates on US 59 (El Campo to Fort Bend county):
El Campo: The mainlanes for US 59 at FM 1162 are open. Work is being done on the SB frontage road (which is closed), possibly the ground level of the FM 1162 interchange itself. (I couldn’t remember if I was able to see it)
Hungerford: The NB traffic is shifted onto the NB frontage road via a new exit ramp. Frontage roads are still under construction. The SB BUS-59/SH 60 exit is replaced. The future NB side of an overpass at CR 212 is under construction.
Fort Bend county: the NB exit is closed and replaced by a temporary exit ramp, shifting traffic to the unfinished future NB bridge. All exits are open except the SB Loop 540 and NB Spur 529 exits.

[MaxConcrete]

Bids were opened today for upgrading an 8-mile section of US 77 (I-69E) from south of the Kingsville bypass to south of road 628 (north of Riviera). Looking at the plans, the full length will have continuous frontage roads in both directions, and the existing 300-foot-wide right-of-way is mostly kept as-is without widening the corridor.

Unfortunately bids are well over budget (23.6%) in spite of 6 bidders. A project on I-10 in Beaumont came at $307 million, 11% over budget. I think inflation has arrived. http://www.dot.state.tx.us/insdtdot/orgchart/cmd/cserve/bidtab/03033001.htm

http://www.dot.state.tx.us/insdtdot/orgchart/cmd/cserve/bidtab/03033002.htm

County:   KLEBERG   Let Date:   03/03/22
Type:   CONVERT NON-FREEWAY   Seq No:   3002
Time:   1184 WORKING DAYS   Project ID:   C 102-4-97
Highway:   US 77   Contract #:   03223002
Length:   8.648   CCSJ:   0102-04-097
Limits:   
From:   CR 2130   Check:   $100,000
To:   1.5 MI. N. OF SH 285   Misc Cost:   
Estimate   $142,982,383.44   % Over/Under   Company
Bidder 1   $176,703,809.06   +23.58%   ANDERSON COLUMBIA CO., INC.
Bidder 2   $178,477,111.34   +24.82%   POSILLICO CIVIL, INC.
Bidder 3   $180,874,386.05   +26.50%   JAMES CONSTRUCTION GROUP, LLC
Bidder 4   $182,953,594.08   +27.96%   WEBBER, LLC
Bidder 5   $199,965,468.73   +39.85%   ZACHRY CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION
Bidder 6   $203,692,480.95   +42.46%   SOUTHLAND CONTRACTING, INC.

[abqtraveler]

Bids were opened today for upgrading an 8-mile section of US 77 (I-69E) from south of the Kingsville bypass to south of road 628 (north of Riviera). Looking at the plans, the full length will have continuous frontage roads in both directions, and the existing 300-foot-wide right-of-way is mostly kept as-is without widening the corridor.

Unfortunately bids are well over budget (23.6%) in spite of 6 bidders. A project on I-10 in Beaumont came at $307 million, 11% over budget. I think inflation has arrived. http://www.dot.state.tx.us/insdtdot/orgchart/cmd/cserve/bidtab/03033001.htm

http://www.dot.state.tx.us/insdtdot/orgchart/cmd/cserve/bidtab/03033002.htm

County:   KLEBERG   Let Date:   03/03/22
Type:   CONVERT NON-FREEWAY   Seq No:   3002
Time:   1184 WORKING DAYS   Project ID:   C 102-4-97
Highway:   US 77   Contract #:   03223002
Length:   8.648   CCSJ:   0102-04-097
Limits:   
From:   CR 2130   Check:   $100,000
To:   1.5 MI. N. OF SH 285   Misc Cost:   
Estimate   $142,982,383.44   % Over/Under   Company
Bidder 1   $176,703,809.06   +23.58%   ANDERSON COLUMBIA CO., INC.
Bidder 2   $178,477,111.34   +24.82%   POSILLICO CIVIL, INC.
Bidder 3   $180,874,386.05   +26.50%   JAMES CONSTRUCTION GROUP, LLC
Bidder 4   $182,953,594.08   +27.96%   WEBBER, LLC
Bidder 5   $199,965,468.73   +39.85%   ZACHRY CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION
Bidder 6   $203,692,480.95   +42.46%   SOUTHLAND CONTRACTING, INC.

Is TxDOT going to award a contract based on the overpriced bids, or are they going to re-bid the project to see if they can get something lower?

[Bobby5280]

They'll have to invent a time machine and go back a few years if they want to get lower bid prices.

It shouldn't be surprising that many of these bids are coming in well above forecasts because the administrative process with these projects moves glacier-slow, taking years. The actual construction plans take a lot of time and effort to develop on their own. Add a mountain of legal red tape into the mix. In a traditional design-bid-build arrangement the construction plans could be years old before they're sent out to bid.

Considering current events (the war in Ukraine, the price of oil and fuel, some covid restrictions are still in place), March of 2022 would be a pretty lousy time to get an updated bid on a highway project. I work in a sign company and it's a real pain for us to price out jobs. We can't just use our estimating software as is because none of the materials prices are stable. We're having to call materials suppliers daily for price updates. And that's just for a project like a lighted street sign. A super highway project is a hell of a lot more complex and complicated to bid.

Actually, with gasoline prices spiking lately I can't help but wonder if some pending projects could be suspended temporarily.

[J N Winkler]

Is TxDOT going to award a contract based on the overpriced bids, or are they going to re-bid the project to see if they can get something lower?

This is just speculation on my part, but I think not, because six prime bids translates into a competitive bidding process and there have been significant cost increases in underlying inputs such as labor, petroleum products, construction materials, etc.  While TxDOT could in theory re-scope the project to bring the headline cost down, like they did with I-10 just northwest of El Paso, I don't see any obvious ways to do that for this project while increasing output per dollar.

[Thegeet]

Breaking News: The US 59 “County Rd/Hill St” interchange in Victoria is complete and the overpass has opened. Happened to pass by on my way to Olive Garden.

[abqtraveler]

Is TxDOT going to award a contract based on the overpriced bids, or are they going to re-bid the project to see if they can get something lower?

This is just speculation on my part, but I think not, because six prime bids translates into a competitive bidding process and there have been significant cost increases in underlying inputs such as labor, petroleum products, construction materials, etc.  While TxDOT could in theory re-scope the project to bring the headline cost down, like they did with I-10 just northwest of El Paso, I don't see any obvious ways to do that for this project while increasing output per dollar.

I was thinking they might reject the bids and reduce the scope of the project to fit the available funds they have in hand. Maybe break it out into multiple phases: the first phase paid for by whatever funds they have in hand now, and contracts to cover later phases of work when additional funding becomes available.

[Thegeet]

Update of US 59 Victoria: https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/local/construction-on-u-s-59-frontage-roads-to-begin-monday/article_c5f757aa-a4a3-11ec-8051-e3f0d4169f8a.html

[Thegeet]

Is TxDOT going to award a contract based on the overpriced bids, or are they going to re-bid the project to see if they can get something lower?

This is just speculation on my part, but I think not, because six prime bids translates into a competitive bidding process and there have been significant cost increases in underlying inputs such as labor, petroleum products, construction materials, etc.  While TxDOT could in theory re-scope the project to bring the headline cost down, like they did with I-10 just northwest of El Paso, I don't see any obvious ways to do that for this project while increasing output per dollar.

I was thinking they might reject the bids and reduce the scope of the project to fit the available funds they have in hand. Maybe break it out into multiple phases: the first phase paid for by whatever funds they have in hand now, and contracts to cover later phases of work when additional funding becomes available.

Can’t they redirect funds to other projects if I-69?

[J N Winkler]

We may have clarity as to what TxDOT proposes to do in a couple of days when an agenda appears for the March 31 Texas Transportation Commission meeting.

[J N Winkler]

I have looked at the agenda for the Texas Transportation Commission's March 31 meeting.  The I-69 contract in Kleberg County that has come in almost 24% over engineer's estimate (CCSJ 0102-04-097) is listed among the construction contracts that are up for approval.  I think that if the Commission approves all of the construction awards on a single motion, it will be included, and thus TxDOT will effectively swallow the cost increase.  But this is only a prediction:  we will have to see what happens in a week.

[Thegeet]

Actually, with gasoline prices spiking lately I can't help but wonder if some pending projects could be suspended temporarily.

Gas prices in South Texas (where I live) have dropped slightly recently.

[MaxConcrete]

Bids were opened today for upgrading an 8-mile section of US 77 (I-69E) from south of the Kingsville bypass to south of road 628 (north of Riviera). Looking at the plans, the full length will have continuous frontage roads in both directions, and the existing 300-foot-wide right-of-way is mostly kept as-is without widening the corridor.

Unfortunately bids are well over budget (23.6%) in spite of 6 bidders. A project on I-10 in Beaumont came at $307 million, 11% over budget. I think inflation has arrived. http://www.dot.state.tx.us/insdtdot/orgchart/cmd/cserve/bidtab/03033001.htm

http://www.dot.state.tx.us/insdtdot/orgchart/cmd/cserve/bidtab/03033002.htm

The bid for US 77 (I-69E) was approved by the commission today. The overall overrun for all bids was 12.9%. There was a discussion about inflation and TxDOT's efforts to manage it. Only two small projects had their bids rejected.

[The Ghostbuster]

Will any of the existing business routes be converted into Interstate 69 Business Routes? Especially if the US Highways the existing and future Interstate 69s parallel are truncated?

[Thegeet]

Will any of the existing business routes be converted into Interstate 69 Business Routes? Especially if the US Highways the existing and future Interstate 69s parallel are truncated?

Either that or maybe new state “Loop” routes are designated or brought back. (i.e., Loop 525 in El Campo, Loop 183 in Wharton and Hungerford)

[ethanhopkin14]

Will any of the existing business routes be converted into Interstate 69 Business Routes? Especially if the US Highways the existing and future Interstate 69s parallel are truncated?

Either that or maybe new state “Loop” routes are designated or brought back. (i.e., Loop 525 in El Campo, Loop 183 in Wharton and Hungerford)

That has always fascinated me.  How Texas decides when to use a business route and when to use a loop designation to serve the same purpose.  There is zero constancy. 

[roadman65]

If or when I-69 get completed in Texas, US 59 will be truncated altogether in the Lone Star State except on the US 71 concurrency north of Texarkana.


BTW does anyone know what highest milepost will be for I-69 and which one of the three branches will host its zero milepost?

[Thegeet]

Will any of the existing business routes be converted into Interstate 69 Business Routes? Especially if the US Highways the existing and future Interstate 69s parallel are truncated?

Either that or maybe new state “Loop” routes are designated or brought back. (i.e., Loop 525 in El Campo, Loop 183 in Wharton and Hungerford)

That has always fascinated me.  How Texas decides when to use a business route and when to use a loop designation to serve the same purpose.  There is zero constancy.

I think it has to be a certain long enough length. The Victoria El Campo and Wharton routes are long enough I believe. If anything, why was Loop 175 the designation for the southern Victoria loop?