I-69 in TX

[MaxConcrete]

Anyone's predictions for when the Riviera bypass contract gets awarded? And construction start?

See my post on July 1. Bids were opened July 1. The contract will be officially awarded at the July 31 TxDOT commission meeting.

As for schedule, I don't see any information with the bid documents. I'm assuming the usual 3 to 4 years to complete the project.

[Thegeet]

Anyone's predictions for when the Riviera bypass contract gets awarded? And construction start?

As for schedule, I don't see any information with the bid documents. I'm assuming the usual 3 to 4 years.

Wait...so construction won't start till 2029?

[MaxConcrete]

Today TxDOT held a public meeting for the release of the draft environmental assessment for the Refugio bypass.

Below is the alignment. It is a direct, efficient route. Yay! It has a long bridge over Mission River, which will drive up the cost.

Construction is scheduled to start in 2029 on the Woodsboro section, and no earlier than 2031 on the Refugio section.

[splashflash]

New Nocagdoches flyover video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=V_GNIKI48yw&pp=0gcJCRsBo7VqN5tD

[bassoon1986]

Today TxDOT held a public meeting for the release of the draft environmental assessment for the Refugio bypass.

Below is the alignment. It is a direct, efficient route. Yay! It has a long bridge over Mission River, which will drive up the cost.

Construction is scheduled to start in 2029 on the Woodsboro section, and no earlier than 2031 on the Refugio section.

Do you think US 183 will extend its southern terminus to the new US 77?

[bwana39]

There is construction on US-59 in Polk county:anti-crossover cables. That would seem to signify that any upgrades on those sections are a decade or more away.

THat sure is a shame.

[sprjus4]

I'd imagine so. I think the priority right now, particularly north of Houston, is constructing controlled access bypasses around towns, and eliminating any traffic signals along the route. The last piece would be upgrading the rural areas, which is a lower priority. Getting that free-flow expressway first is important.

[djlynch]

I had the chance to drive I-69E/US 77 between I-37 and Brownsville a couple weekends ago. The construction between Kingsville and Riviera is coming along more quickly than I would expect for a June 2027 opening date, although I suppose it's possible that some parts of it open sooner than others. I think the 45 MPH limit southbound on that stretch (which also had an active 35 MPH school zone in Ricardo as I went through) is the most ignored speed limit in all of Texas. I didn't feel comfortable slowing much below 75 out of fear of getting rear-ended. Just south of there, I noticed that one of the two gas stations in Riviera has closed, I assume due to ROW acquisition, so I guess construction is coming fairly soon.

I also couldn't help but notice how inconsistent the signage was along the entire route for whether the road was just 77, 69E and 77, or 69 and 77, even over fairly short distances where there is already a full freeway. I'm pretty sure there was a spot in Robstown where the signage on the right just before an entrance ramp said 77, the signage at the ramp itself said 69E and 77, and then a reassurance marker just after the ramp merged said 69 and 77.

[Phudman]

https://www.ketk.com/news/traffic-roads/txdot-opening-diboll-relief-route-after-decades-of-work/

DIBOLL, Texas (KETK) – The Texas Department of Transportation is nearly done with construction of the Diboll Relief Route, which will open to southbound traffic for the first time this week.

[jlam]

https://www.ketk.com/news/traffic-roads/txdot-opening-diboll-relief-route-after-decades-of-work/

DIBOLL, Texas (KETK) – The Texas Department of Transportation is nearly done with construction of the Diboll Relief Route, which will open to southbound traffic for the first time this week.

Already? I didn't think that it would open until December.

[Thegeet]

Anyone know when they will designate any part of I-69? It's been a while.

[MaxConcrete]

Anyone know when they will designate any part of I-69? It's been a while.

Approved last week

Liberty County

[Thegeet]

Anyone know when they will designate any part of I-69? It's been a while.

Approved last week

Liberty County

That's progress, but nevertheless, some other of the Interstate worthy sections already connected are not yet signed as such...like US 77 in Driscoll.

[abqtraveler]

Anyone know when they will designate any part of I-69? It's been a while.

Approved last week

Liberty County

That's progress, but nevertheless, some other of the Interstate worthy sections already connected are not yet signed as such...like US 77 in Driscoll.

The new freeway sections have to go through the paperwork process with FHWA and AASHTO before they can be signed as I-69. That usually takes a few years after construction has been completed.

[bwana39]

Anyone know when they will designate any part of I-69? It's been a while.

Approved last week

Liberty County

That's progress, but nevertheless, some other of the Interstate worthy sections already connected are not yet signed as such...like US 77 in Driscoll.

The new freeway sections have to go through the paperwork process with FHWA and AASHTO before they can be signed as I-69. That usually takes a few years after construction has been completed.

It has not been taking that long. It pretty much seems to happen as long as the new portion is directly connected to an existing (accepted & signed) portion. Generally at the next quarterly meeting of AASHTO meeting.

[Thegeet]

Anyone know when they will designate any part of I-69? It's been a while.

Approved last week

Liberty County

That's progress, but nevertheless, some other of the Interstate worthy sections already connected are not yet signed as such...like US 77 in Driscoll.

The new freeway sections have to go through the paperwork process with FHWA and AASHTO before they can be signed as I-69. That usually takes a few years after construction has been completed.

It has not been taking that long. It pretty much seems to happen as long as the new portion is directly connected to an existing (accepted & signed) portion. Generally at the next quarterly meeting of AASHTO meeting.

If it's so, I oughta see US 77 signed as I-69E in Driscoll next! Haha.

[CoreySamson]

I drove the I-69 corridor between Houston and Nacogdoches again yesterday. Here are the new developments since I took pictures in June. I did not take any pictures this time, as it was getting dark and I have a crappy phone camera (FYI, I drove it SB).

Cleveland:
Although this section of I-69 was designated last month according to the posts below, there are no new I-69 signs up yet. The northern terminus of I-69 is still at Fostoria Road.

Between Cleveland and Shepherd:
This section continues to be one of the most efficient parts of the I-69 project. SB traffic is now on the newly poured concrete SB feeder lanes, and asphalt for the future SB main lanes is being poured now. NB traffic is still on the ROW of the future NB feeder. There is some nice high mast lighting on this section that has also been completed and was on when I drove through.

Corrigan:
I didn't notice any work done on the approaches, very similarly to how the Diboll bypass was a few years ago, but I caught brief glimpses of decent progress on bridge supports over the railroad tracks directly paralleling US 59 there on both ends of town.

Diboll:
This is the big news here. The southbound lanes of the Diboll bypass are now completed, so the bypass is officially open in both directions! There remains a little bit of feeder road work on the north side of the project, but this project is basically completed.

Lufkin:
The work on Loop 286 on the NE side of town is now completely done. Feeders now flank the highway between TX 105 and the railroad tracks, marking another completed limited-access section. North of town, closer to Redland, there is some good progress. The new main lanes' asphalt is being poured in places, and this new bridge is basically complete. Very soon, US 59 between TX 103 and FM 2021 will be completely limited-access.

Nacogdoches:
I did not notice too much progress here since June. SB traffic on the south side of the project is now properly routed on the feeder instead of a temporary alignment, but other than that there wasn't too much progress.

[Thegeet]

Anyone know when they will designate any part of I-69? It's been a while.

Approved last week

Liberty County

That's progress, but nevertheless, some other of the Interstate worthy sections already connected are not yet signed as such...like US 77 in Driscoll.

The new freeway sections have to go through the paperwork process with FHWA and AASHTO before they can be signed as I-69. That usually takes a few years after construction has been completed.

I missed this reply. So is this like to show the strength of the bridges or freeway or something?

[Bobby5280]

I wonder if TX DOT has any plans to do improvements on the US-59 interchange at the South end of Loop 287. The existing interchange merely has a pair of single lane flyover ramps that connect US-59 with the East half of Loop 287. The freeway segment in the South portion of Loop 287 is really skinny. It doesn't look like it meets Interstate standards at all.

[sprjus4]

I wonder if TX DOT has any plans to do improvements on the US-59 interchange at the South end of Loop 287. The existing interchange merely has a pair of single lane flyover ramps that connect US-59 with the East half of Loop 287. The freeway segment in the South portion of Loop 287 is really skinny. It doesn't look like it meets Interstate standards at all.

Doesn't meet interstate standards because it doesn't have a wide median?

[Bobby5280]

It's mainly about inadequate shoulders or no shoulders at all. Also, it's kind of standard for the thru lanes ramps of an Interstate highway to have 2 lanes. Loop 287 is going to need a whole lot of improvement work in order to be signed as I-69.

[splashflash]

Cleveland:
Although this section of I-69 was designated last month according to the posts below, there are no new I-69 signs up yet. The northern terminus of I-69 is still at Fostoria Road.

Between Cleveland and Shepherd:
This section continues to be one of the most efficient parts of the I-69 project. SB traffic is now on the newly poured concrete SB feeder lanes, and asphalt for the future SB main lanes is being poured now. NB traffic is still on the ROW of the future NB feeder. There is some nice high mast lighting on this section that has also been completed and was on when I drove through.

This has a completion date of 2029 according to a department update.  https://www.txdot.gov/projects/projects-studies/lufkin/us59-shepherd-cleveland.html.

"Webber, LLC was awarded the $189.8M project and began construction in winter of 2023. The project is anticipated to be completed in fall 2029, weather permitting.

Sounds long, no?