A new three-year highway improvement project could soon cause headaches for thousands of motorists driving near downtown Fort Worth.<\/p>\n
Work is expected to begin later this year for the $142 million North Tarrant Express road project that will replace the 63-year-old Sylvania Avenue bridge over Airport Freeway and reconstruct nearby frontage roads of Interstate 35 West.<\/p>\n
The project moves forward after the Regional Transportation Council on March 12 approved spending $45 million in regional toll revenue from Fort Worth-area motorists as a local contribution. Texas Department of Transportation officials plan to spend about $97 million on the project, using funds held in escrow for the North Tarrant Express.<\/p>\n
The project is needed since more than 165,000 vehicles travel on I-35W every day near downtown Fort Worth, TxDOT officials said.<\/p>\n
The Sylvania Avenue bridge \u2014 built in 1963 \u2014 has been damaged by vehicles many times, officials said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe existing bridge structure has been hit numerous times due to the low vertical clearance (13.5 feet), and reconstruction will raise the vertical clearance, increasing safety<\/p>\n
and reducing congestion delays at the underpass,\u201d officials wrote in a transportation council summary.<\/p>\n
The North Tarrant Express project will include utility relocations as well as entrance and exit ramp reconfigurations along Airport Freeway, also known as State Highway 121. In addition to replacing the Sylvania bridge, officials will construct a continuous eastbound frontage road that includes a new bridge over the Trinity River, officials said.<\/p>\n
\u201cConstruction is anticipated to begin before the end of the year and is expected to last approximately three years overall,\u201d Shawna Russell Jones, a TxDOT spokesperson, said via email.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jones said the Sylvania bridge component \u2014 requiring full demolition and reconstruction \u2014 is projected to take about 18 months.<\/p>\n
The construction won\u2019t occur during 2026 FIFA World Cup activities in June and July. Two North Texas facilities \u2014 Mansfield Stadium and FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco \u2014 are official team base camp training sites for the games, which are occurring in Arlington.<\/p>\n
\u201cUtility relocation for the project could potentially begin as early as late summer but would not impact FIFA,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
Since 2013, TxDOT has spent billions to improve I-35W in phases, including adding toll TEXpress lanes, auxiliary lanes and some frontage roads.<\/p>\n
Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n