North Houston Highway Improvement Project

[Plutonic Panda]

Next phase of this was awarded with another part of it to be let for bid in September. This article breaks down a lot of the work and wow a 2041 completion date.

https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/houston-highway-set-for-7b-upgrade/65535

[MaxConcrete]

Next phase of this was awarded with another part of it to be let for bid in September. This article breaks down a lot of the work and wow a 2041 completion date.

The official web site shows completion in 2038. If the official web site has the current correct information, it's better than 2041, but still far in the future.

Recent events related to NHHIP

• US Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee died July 19. She was the project's leading opponent, and also the highest ranking politically. Harris County judge Lina Hidalgo is the highest ranking opponent still in office, but she appears to have moved on from the subject since the project settlement was reached.
  
• TxDOT's eminent domain list for July included properties along segment 1A (North Loop to Shepherd), which is not slated to begin construction until 2034 (see link above). This was a surprise to me, and is a favorable development. Property owners have the option for advanced/accelerated property acquisition if they want to move sooner rather than later, so these properties could be special cases. Often these special cases are handled outside of eminent domain, so that's another reason I was surprised.
  

[Plutonic Panda]

It'll just be nice to see dirt moving and watch this project progress. This has to one of the if not the biggest highway construction project currently in the country.

[J N Winkler]

TxDOT has not yet uploaded construction plans for CCSJ 0027-13-200, the project Plutonic Panda refers to, but I believe it will be the first design-bid-build contract the agency has advertised that has had an engineer's estimate over $1 billion.  Previous contracts valued in excess of that threshold have been design-builds.

[MaxConcrete]

TxDOT has not yet uploaded construction plans for CCSJ 0027-13-200, the project Plutonic Panda refers to, but I believe it will be the first design-bid-build contract the agency has advertised that has had an engineer's estimate over $1 billion.  Previous contracts valued in excess of that threshold have been design-builds.

The "100% preliminary" plans were online at this location a few weeks ago. But it has been removed.

The project receiving bids in September is estimated at $548 million and is traditional design-bid-build.

The first billion+ project is 3C-2, listed at $1.43 billion with design build scheduled for September 2027. (Still three years out, unfortunately)

[Henry]

When I saw the part where I-45 runs in the middle of I-69, I thought it would be a new rival to other extra-wide urban freeways, including the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago, the Downtown Connector in Atlanta, and the Katy Freeway west of Houston. Elevating I-45 directly above I-10 is another great idea, since that eliminates the need to buy even more ROW where I-10 is sufficient.

[J N Winkler]

The project receiving bids in September is estimated at $548 million and is traditional design-bid-build.

The notice to contractors currently shows an estimate of $1,010,971,027.63, with a link to a bid item listing that begins with the following:

Code Select Expand

COUNTY: HARRIS                  HIGHWAY: IH 69, ETC        LENGTH:   4.0950 MI
 CONTROL NUMBER: 0027-13-200, ETC                         DBE GOAL:      9.0 % 
 PROJECT NUMBER: STP 2025(009)MM, ETC                                          
 TYPE: WIDEN FREEWAY                                                           
 TIME FOR COMPLETION: 180 WORKING DAYS                GUARANTY:     100,000.00 
 BIDS RECEIVED UNTIL:  1:00 PM SEPTEMBER 05, 2024   * EST.COST: 1,010,971,027.63
 BIDS WILL BE OPENED:  1:00 PM SEPTEMBER 05, 2024                              
   MAIL OR DELIVER BIDS TO:                 FOR PS&E PACKAGE QUESTIONS CALL:   
   TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION       HAMOON BAHRAMI                     
   ATTN: CONSTRUCTION DIVISION - RM M1C3.02 14838 NORTHWEST FREEWAY            
   6230 E. STASSNEY LANE                    HOUSTON, TX 77040                  
   AUSTIN TX 78744-3147                     713/934-5902                       
   FOR QUESTIONS REGARDING A PROPOSAL CALL 512/416-2498                        
   TO REQUEST A PROPOSAL GO TO http://www.dot.state.tx.us/business/pr.htm      
   FOR ELECTRONIC BIDDING VISIT THE WEBSITE BELOW:                             
        http://www.txdot.gov/business/letting-bids/ebs.html                    
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 COUNTY        CONTROL              LIMITS FROM                                
 HIGHWAY       PROJECT              LIMITS TO                                  
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 HARRIS        0027-13-200          SH 288                                     
 IH 69         STP 2025(009)MM      IH 45                                      
                                    LENGTH: 1.3650 MILES                       
 HARRIS        0027-13-221          AT MCGOWEN, TUAM AND ELGIN                 
 IH 69         F 2025(038)          .                                          
                                    LENGTH: 1.3650 MILES                       
 HARRIS        0027-13-226          SH 288                                     
 IH 69         ROW 27-13-226        IH 45                                      
                                    LENGTH: 1.3650 MILES                       
 HARRIS        0598-01-109          NORTH OF BLODGETT STREET                   
 SH 288        C 598-1-109          CLEBURNE STREET                            
                                    LENGTH:  MILES                             
I do see amounts ranging from about $300 million to about $500 million if I Google on CSJ 0027-13-200 specifically, so if the discrepancy does not result from the inclusion of other CSJs, I am not sure how to account for it.

[MaxConcrete]

I do see amounts ranging from about $300 million to about $500 million if I Google on CSJ 0027-13-200 specifically, so if the discrepancy does not result from the inclusion of other CSJs, I am not sure how to account for it.

I view this link as having the most accurate and up-to-date estimates.

For the NHHIP project, you need to select 2025, then September.

[MaxConcrete]

Today bids were opened for the first contract for actual freeway construction. Yay! The project scope is section 3-B2, which is I-69 between SH 288 and I-45. According to the link, this project should be finished in late 2029.

Williams Brothers is the only serious bidder. Webber submitted a crazy-high token bid. I think other bidders view this as Williams' territory (their headquarters is about a mile from this project), so they don't bother to submit a bid. I'm sure TxDOT would like more legitimate bidders, but since the low bid is only 13% over the estimate it will surely proceed.

County:    HARRIS    Let Date:    09/05/24
Type:    WIDEN ROAD - ADD LANES    Seq No:    3001
Time:    2001 WORKING DAYS    Project ID:    STP 2025(009)MM
Highway:    IH 69    Contract #:    09243001
Length:    4.095    CCSJ:    0027-13-200
Limits:   
From:    SH 288    Check:    $100,000
To:    IH 45    Misc Cost:   
Estimate    $615,772,711.62    % Over/Under    Company
Bidder 1    $695,529,456.25    +12.95%    WILLIAMS BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION CO., INC.
Bidder 2    $1254095112.14    +103.66%    WEBBER, LLC

[J N Winkler]

This is the same project (0027-13-200) for which the notice to contractors at one point had an engineer's estimate over $1 billion.  That was later revised to $500 million and change, which was close to but not identical to the value shown in TxDOT's project dashboard.

[MaxConcrete]

TxDOT posted a meeting notice for substantial and very expensive changes for section 3A (schematic), which is I-69 from Spur 527 to SH 288.

I think these changes will push the cost of the short (0.8 mile) section to above $1 billion.

I don't like the removal of the frontage roads, but I don't live in the area so it won't affect me. There appears to be no changes to the main lanes.

• Removal of the northbound frontage road, which the current plan includes from LaBranch to Almeda. I believe (but not 100% sure) that the northbound frontage road had previously been shortened.
• Substantial shortening of the southbound frontage road, which would be very short (from Almeda to Cleburne) in the new plan. The frontage road in the current plan had already been shortened.
• Including a bridge for Cleburne over the freeway, which will be on a 300-foot-wide cap over the freeway.
• The existing planned freeway cap at Wheeler and Caroline will be extended westward to San Jacinto and eastward to Austin Street.
• Build new temporary 38-foot-wide bridges accommodating 3 lanes in each direction during construction. This would be the longest temporary bridges I'm aware of to built in Texas.
• 3.3 acres of new right-of-way. This is an average 35-foot-wide strip along the 0.8 mile length, although I think the ROW will be mostly on the east half and not uniformly added. The announcement mentions displacement of a cell phone tower on the south side and two billboards, which currently exist on both sides.
• It appears that much of the right-of-way is needed to "accommodate underground anchors to provide structural support for the retaining walls along I-69."

Since the lift of the Federal Highway Administration pause on March 6, 2023, detailed design and stakeholder coordination has continued on Segment 3A. In response to public comments and further engineering analysis, various design changes are being proposed. Approximately 3.3 acres of additional right of way and approximately 0.1 acre of permanent easements would be required to accommodate underground anchors to provide structural support for the retaining walls along I-69. Based on requests from local governments, the proposed frontage roads on either side of I-69 would be modified from the original schematic design to accommodate the reconnection of Cleburne Street across I-69. The proposed frontage road on the northbound side of I-69 as shown in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) would be removed between Almeda Road and LaBranch Street, with Eagle Street terminating at a cul-de-sac. The frontage road on the southbound side of I-69 would terminate at Cleburne Street instead of Caroline Street. The re-establishment of Cleburne Street across I-69 would allow vehicular traffic to continue to use the crossing and add bicycle and pedestrian connectivity. An additional 300-foot-wide roadway cap would be constructed at the Cleburne Street crossing due to the skew of the roadway over the I-69 mainlanes. Additionally, the project team is proposing a roadway cap extension from Wheeler Avenue and Caroline Street to include San Jacinto and Austin Streets. In order to maintain traffic flow during construction, two three-lane, 38-foot-wide, elevated bridges would be constructed on either side of the existing elevated I-69 mainlanes to provide a temporary place to divert traffic. These bridges would be removed prior to the conclusion of construction. To accommodate drainage needs for the I-69 portion, a pump station is proposed at the I-69/SH 288 interchange and modifications would be made at the existing pump station near Main Street. To avoid conflicts with the retaining wall anchors and reduce impacts to adjacent parcels, an originally proposed storm sewer has been rerouted to Caroline Street.

The proposed design changes would, subject to final design considerations, require approximately 3.3 acres of additional right of way and potentially displace one cell tower, two vacant commercial buildings, two billboards, five commercial buildings, one residential duplex, and one residence.

[jgb191]

The I-69 northbound section between the Spur and TX-288 has become a bottleneck from traffic inbound towards downtown.  It is seven lanes northbound just inside I-610 (near the Galleria) and gradually narrowed down to just three lanes approaching TX-288.  Not sure why the need for two must-exit left lanes into the Spur...perhaps the left-most lane and the second-left lane being an optional exit might have been better for traffic flow.

[TXtoNJ]

That could be fixed fairly easily by placing the Spur 527 divide further back, by the Mandell St. bridge, and physically separating the lanes. They'd also be better off by converting the HOV into a pair of diamond lanes at Edloe to address weaving.

[MaxConcrete]

The public meeting presentation items are online, but unfortunately there's not a new schematic. Fortunately the info banners provide good information.

Right of way
The 3.3 acres of new right-of-way appear to be entirely for the retaining wall anchors. With the new right-of-way additions, the clear zones on both sides of the main lanes are a minimum of 60 feet wide. This clear zone will be used for the temporary main lane bridge structures, and will be incorporated into future deck parks.

Temporary bridges
This graphic shows the location. The graphic says the temporary bridges "reduces overall construction time", among many other benefits listed. This graphic shows the soil anchors.

Caps
This graphic shows a possible design for cap parks, with some strangely included wind turbines and solar panels.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, these changes will drive up the cost substantially. I think it will be over $1 billion, but the video mentions a cost of $639 million.

There appear to be no changes to the design of the main lanes.

[longhorn]

Txdot seem to use temporary bridges alot in the Houston area. Was used during the 290/610 rebuild and some temporary bridge columns were used in the I-69/610 rebuild.

[CtrlAltDel]

I think these changes will push the cost of the short (0.8 mile) section to above $1 billion.

That seems like quite a lot.

[MaxConcrete]

Today bids were opened for the first contract for actual freeway construction. Yay! The project scope is section 3-B2, which is I-69 between SH 288 and I-45. According to the link, this project should be finished in late 2029.

There was a groundbreaking event today. It was much more elaborate than the typical ceremony (i.e. a pile of dirt and shovels). This event featured Houston Mayor John Whitmire, TxDOT Commission Chairman Bruce Bugg, Houston TxDOT Commissioner Steven Alvis and many other officials. This is also very soon after the contract award.
https://x.com/TxDOTHouston/status/1846634769464844557

[Chris]

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/i45-expansion-construction-19841135.php

$ 13 billion, this must be the largest-ever road project in the U.S., after Boston's Big Dig?

[Rothman]

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/i45-expansion-construction-19841135.php

$ 13 billion, this must be the largest-ever road project in the U.S., after Boston's Big Dig?

Depends on what you mean by "road" and if you're including bridges.

[Chris]

Well, a road project, planned as one project, obviously not the construction of the entire Interstate Highway system.

Are there are any bridge projects that ended up north of $ 13 billion? The replacement of the eastern span of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge ended up at $ 6.5 billion.

[MaxConcrete]

The groundbreaking event was quite a large production, featuring native Houstonian quarterback Vince Young, who led the 2005 Texas national championship team.

https://x.com/i/status/1847038238852038727