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Austin: IH 35 rebuild

Started by MaxConcrete, April 25, 2019, 12:03:01 AM

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MaxConcrete

This news report says that Austin is seeking a loan up to $193 million for an I-35 deck park.

According to the report, Austin has already secured a $105.2 million grant for the work, which is the cap on the south side of downtown from Cesar Chavez to 4th Street. The total cost is estimated at $600 million to $900 million, so more money will be needed. It isn't clear if the cost estimate is for all the caps or just this first cap.


QuoteAustin eyes $193M loan request to 'cap and stitch' I-35
Request comes after city secured millions in federal funds

With I-35 expansion efforts in the works near downtown, Austin City Council is eyeing a $193 million state loan request to support highway coverings through the city's "Cap and Stitch" program.

"Our Future 35" is the city initiative behind the cap and stitch program, which seeks to cover sunken portions of the expanded I-35 with deck plazas. Those caps can house green space, small buildings, art displays and other community amenities.

On March 21, Austin City Council will consider asking the city manager to submit a loan application with the State Infrastructure Bank, which is overseen by the Texas Department of Transportation. The request is not to exceed $193 million, per council documents.
www.DFWFreeways.com
www.HoustonFreeways.com


Echostatic

The $600M-ish figure is for all the caps.
ATX —> MPLS. Travelled many roads, in part and in full.

Bobby5280

If the cost gets any higher it won't be much different than just deep boring some tunnels.

armadillo speedbump

The caps only benefit the city of Austin, therefore the city of Austin should pay 100% of the cost of the caps.  It is the wealthiest per capita metro in the state, why should the rest of us pay for a purely aesthetic and snob appeal amenity for them?  Same for any freeway cap, those are solely of very local benefit.  The vast majority of the population would benefit more from those limited tax dollars being spent on expanding and improving the regional road network.

Echostatic

Demolition of properties in Central Austin has begun.

The former office of the Austin Chronicle was taken down today.
https://x.com/daustinsanders/status/1819058937418699115

Other properties on the east side of the highway have already been razed.

Photo from MySA.

Across the corridor, over 50 homes and nearly as many businesses will be demolished. The Lady Bird Lake (Ben White to Holly Street), Drainage Tunnel, and MLK Bridge project sub-sections are set to begin construction this year. The larger project sub-sections requiring the most demolition and site prep work, Downtown and University, aren't planned to begin until 2026.
ATX —> MPLS. Travelled many roads, in part and in full.

Plutonic Panda

I'm glad to see this moving forward.

Plutonic Panda

Article on the first phase of construction in downtown is about to begin: https://www.fox7austin.com/news/i-35-reconstruction-austin-fall

MaxConcrete

#232
Bids were opened today for the first major project for I-35 in Austin, the south section from Holly Street just north of the lake to SH 71. This is the comparatively easy and inexpensive part of the overall project compared to the downtown work.

It's another budget buster. There were four bidders and two competitive bidders, but the low bid of $746 million is 32% over the estimate. In Houston, yesterday's bid opening for the first section of NHHIP was estimated at $616 million and had only one serious bidder, and it was 13% over estimate at $696 million.

County:    TRAVIS    Let Date:    09/06/24
Type:    WIDEN ROAD - ADD LANES    Seq No:    3201
Time:    2452 WORKING DAYS    Project ID:    F 2024(833)
Highway:    IH 35    Contract #:    09243201
Length:    0.000    CCSJ:    0015-13-428
Limits:   
From:    HOLLY STREET    Check:    $100,000
To:    US 290 / SH 71    Misc Cost:   
Estimate    $564,497,404.26    % Over/Under    Company
Bidder 1    $746,387,730.84    +32.22%    BALFOUR BEATTY INFRASTRUCTURE, INC.
Bidder 2    $747,746,999.80    +32.46%    FLUOR HEAVY CIVIL, LLC
Bidder 3    $895,227,169.33    +58.59%    WEBBER, LLC
Bidder 4    $1126331944.86    +99.53%    PULICE CONSTRUCTION, INC.
www.DFWFreeways.com
www.HoustonFreeways.com

MaxConcrete

Photos of work in progress south of SH 71 in south Austin. These piers are for the elevated express lanes. Photos taken October 13, 2024.





www.DFWFreeways.com
www.HoustonFreeways.com

DenverBrian

So they're building even MORE double deckers? I thought they were trying to get away from that.

Bobby5280

There isn't enough space to just spread outward. And it costs too damned much to dig tunnels.

MaxConcrete

#236
Bids were opened today for the first major project in the downtown area: the drainage tunnel.

Yikes, it's expensive, but of course building tunnels is obscenely expensive in the United States. This bid is an A+B bid, with the B component an administrative cost for time used. Looking at the bid, it appears that the administrative cost is $120,000 per day, which is $146 million for the 1217 days in the job, which means the construction cost for the winning bid is probably around $738 million.

The tunnel has a 22 foot-wide (6.7m) inner diameter and 25 foot-wide (7.6m) outer diameter. It is around 6 miles long, following the freeway from Airport Blvd to Cesar Chavez, then going east under Cesar Chavez to US 183, where it is routed into the river. Earlier plans terminated the tunnel just east of the Lake Lady Bird dam, so it appears that the tunnel had to be extended 1 mile east. Plans show the depth varying between 74 and 171 feet.

Looking at the item cost, there are two tunnel boring machines. The winning bidder is listed at $30 million each, which is much lower than the other two bidders ($100 million and $73 million).

County:   TRAVIS   Let Date:   12/04/24
Type:   DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS   Seq No:   3201
Time:   0 X   Project ID:   STP 2B24(253)MM
Highway:   IH 35   Contract #:   12243201
Length:   0.000   CCSJ:   0015-13-433
Limits:   
From:   SOUTH OF 51ST STREET   Check:   $100,000
To:   NORTH OF HOLLY STREET   Misc Cost:   
Estimate   $770,020,724.75   % Over/Under   Company
Bidder 1   $844,040,714.50   +9.61%   SAK CONSTRUCTION, LLC
J.F. SHEA CONSTRUCTION, INC.
Bidder 2   $998,889,999.98   +29.72%   DRAGADOS USA, INC.
Bidder 3   $1181639750.06   +53.46%   FERROVIAL CONSTRUCTION US CORP.
WEBBER, LLC
www.DFWFreeways.com
www.HoustonFreeways.com

BJ59

That's so expensive they might as well build tunnels to carry more traffic at this point  :-D . Just joking but seriously that is a shockingly high cost, and this cost doesn't even add lanes/ construct more roadway

longhorn


MaxConcrete

#239
Austin City Council has delayed a vote on approving funds for the downtown deck parks.

News report

We knew the caps would be expensive. This report has some estimates, from $401 million to $1.395 billion. The article says the numbers are "not including any of the community amenities on top of the highway". The scenarios don't appear to include the caps at the UT-Austin campus, which UT-Austin is funding and are probably going to be large and expensive.


Link to image

QuoteAUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin City Council will no longer vote this week on a potential commitment to spend hundreds of millions of dollars capping Interstate 35, based on a council memo shared on Thursday.

Now, Austin City Council has until March 2025 to vote on those funding commitments — in turn solidifying the breadth of the capped I-35 program. That extended deadline is due to delays in TxDOT's pump station contract award, per the memo.

However, executing the full program comes with a heavy sticker price. The cost of all eight locations' roadway elements (which are required to implement early in TxDOT's I-35 Capital Express Central project) would cost an estimated $284 million. The cap structures alone would range closer to $600 million, meaning it would cost roughly $900 million for the roadway and cap structures — not including any of the community amenities on top of the highway.

New to the discussion was a "Scenario 6" option, which would include three full-sized caps downtown (Cesar Chavez to Fourth Streets, Fourth to Seventh Streets and 11th to 12th Streets) along with two full-sized caps between 38th 1/2 Street and the Red Line rail crossing.

www.DFWFreeways.com
www.HoustonFreeways.com

Anthony_JK

Quote from: MaxConcrete on December 11, 2024, 11:30:19 PMAustin City Council has delayed a vote on approving funds for the downtown deck parks.

News report

We knew the caps would be expensive. This report has some estimates, from $401 million to $1.395 billion. The article says the numbers are "not including any of the community amenities on top of the highway". The scenarios don't appear to include the caps at the UT-Austin campus, which UT-Austin is funding and are probably going to be large and expensive.


Link to image

QuoteAUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin City Council will no longer vote this week on a potential commitment to spend hundreds of millions of dollars capping Interstate 35, based on a council memo shared on Thursday.

Now, Austin City Council has until March 2025 to vote on those funding commitments — in turn solidifying the breadth of the capped I-35 program. That extended deadline is due to delays in TxDOT's pump station contract award, per the memo.

However, executing the full program comes with a heavy sticker price. The cost of all eight locations' roadway elements (which are required to implement early in TxDOT's I-35 Capital Express Central project) would cost an estimated $284 million. The cap structures alone would range closer to $600 million, meaning it would cost roughly $900 million for the roadway and cap structures — not including any of the community amenities on top of the highway.

New to the discussion was a "Scenario 6" option, which would include three full-sized caps downtown (Cesar Chavez to Fourth Streets, Fourth to Seventh Streets and 11th to 12th Streets) along with two full-sized caps between 38th 1/2 Street and the Red Line rail crossing.


Rethink35 is going to have a field week with this. They are going to say "Diverting I-35 through SH 45 and SH 130 and turning old 35 to a boulevard is far less expensive and destructive than THIS boondoggle!!!" Do we see yet another lawsuit to stop this project forthcoming?


moto g power (2022)


longhorn

Work on the project is already starting. TxDot was smart in separating this from the original project. If you want it, Austin, pay for it. Throws it back on the city council.

longhorn

Besides a cap is better than a boulevard to the urbanists because of less traffic and more room. They just do not want to pay for it.

Echostatic

ATX —> MPLS. Travelled many roads, in part and in full.

rte66man

When you come to a fork in the road... TAKE IT.

                                                               -Yogi Berra

thisdj78

Quote from: longhorn on December 04, 2024, 11:20:16 PMhttps://www.kut.org/transportation/2024-12-04/your-ultimate-guide-to-the-i-35-expansion-through-north-austin

Your ultimate guide to the I-35 expansion through North Austin

I'm really surprised they aren't planning any ramp stubs on the I-35 rebuild to support future direct connections to the SH45 toll (or plan to just completely finish the interchange at the same time).

Are they never going to complete this interchange? I imagine the traffic counts going from SH45 to I-35 south alone justify it.

Echostatic

Quote from: thisdj78 on January 04, 2025, 12:57:31 AM
Quote from: longhorn on December 04, 2024, 11:20:16 PMhttps://www.kut.org/transportation/2024-12-04/your-ultimate-guide-to-the-i-35-expansion-through-north-austin

Your ultimate guide to the I-35 expansion through North Austin

I'm really surprised they aren't planning any ramp stubs on the I-35 rebuild to support future direct connections to the SH45 toll (or plan to just completely finish the interchange at the same time).

Are they never going to complete this interchange? I imagine the traffic counts going from SH45 to I-35 south alone justify it.

Completion of the 35/45 interchange is planned as part of the I-35 Georgetown to Round Rock expansion, which will add two HOV lanes from SH45 north to SH29. https://www.txdot.gov/projects/projects-studies/austin/i35-georgetown-to-round-rock-project.html

That project, when complete, will give I-35 through the Austin area 38 miles of continguous HOV lanes.
ATX —> MPLS. Travelled many roads, in part and in full.

thisdj78

Quote from: Echostatic on January 04, 2025, 03:48:07 PM
Quote from: thisdj78 on January 04, 2025, 12:57:31 AM
Quote from: longhorn on December 04, 2024, 11:20:16 PMhttps://www.kut.org/transportation/2024-12-04/your-ultimate-guide-to-the-i-35-expansion-through-north-austin

Your ultimate guide to the I-35 expansion through North Austin

I'm really surprised they aren't planning any ramp stubs on the I-35 rebuild to support future direct connections to the SH45 toll (or plan to just completely finish the interchange at the same time).

Are they never going to complete this interchange? I imagine the traffic counts going from SH45 to I-35 south alone justify it.

Completion of the 35/45 interchange is planned as part of the I-35 Georgetown to Round Rock expansion, which will add two HOV lanes from SH45 north to SH29. https://www.txdot.gov/projects/projects-studies/austin/i35-georgetown-to-round-rock-project.html

That project, when complete, will give I-35 through the Austin area 38 miles of continguous HOV lanes.

Thanks! Never knew that was a project in scope. I know they just reconstructed several ramps in the Round Rock area, it will be interesting to see if (or how) they stay in the current configuration when they expand I-35.



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