Texas Transportation Thread (Roads, Rails & Skies)

Yet another East El Paso freeway will see major construction in the coming years. That’s according to a Public Meeting Notice released by the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT).

Spur 601, also known as Liberty Expressway, will get an additional lane in each direction as a result of the project which stretches from Airport Road to Loop 375 in East Fort Bliss. This will increase the number of lanes to three in each direction. The Spur already has three lanes in each direction west of the planned project.

Frontage roads will also be added along the five-mile stretch, though it’s unclear if the gateways will span the entire distance.

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The Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) revealed its latest plans for Montana Avenue at a public meeting last week, and its newest vision for the thoroughfare has grown considerably in less than a year. The thoroughfare, also known as US 62/180, may now become a freeway for over seven miles on El Paso’s East Side.

The project’s limits stretch from half a mile west of Yarbrough/Global Reach Drive to a half mile east of North Zaragoza Road. TXDOT schematics show a controlled-access freeway with three lanes in each direction that will create overpasses and underpasses at major intersections.

Frontage roads will also be added in each direction and be used as gateways for the freeway lanes. These gateways will also allow access to commercial land along US 62/180. And at least two interchanges may include direct-connector ramps.

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FLAWDA-FELLA said:

^^ Wow, that is quite a road trip that you are about to embark on there fredcalif. If I may ask, why are you driving instead of flying?

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Before the next segment of the Grand Parkway north of Interstate 10 opens to traffic sometime before Dec. 21, those interested will get a chance to hit the pavement. They’ll just have to be on foot.





A public celebration is planned Saturday for the parkway opening, including a 1K walk and 5K run benefiting H.E.A.R.T., which provides job training for adults with developmental disabilities. The party includes other activities and a concert between 8 a.m. and noon.

Segment E of the Grand Parkway, between I-10 and U.S. 290, is the first new stretch of the planned 180-mile outer loop to open in five years. The 15-mile extension faced environmental and archaeological challenges and cost $320.3 million, spread across four distinct construction projects. Some direct connections between I-10 and the Grand Parkway will not open until April.

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A major segment of the Grand Parkway has opened, between U.S. 59 and FM 1464, according to the Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority.

The approximately eight-mile stretch opened Feb. 27, according to the department, and takes the project one more step toward completion.

The Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority has set tentative dates for the rest of the stretch under its control:

- US 90A/FM 1464 to Harlem Road to be completed mid-March 2014
- Harlem Road to West Bellfort to be completed mid-April 2014
- West Bellfort to Westpark Toll Road/FM 1093 to be completed late April 2014

The highway is intended to be a third outer loop around Houston, and, although it is only partly constructed, it has sparked multiple real estate development deals. Most recently, a real estate developer purchased more than 40 acres to develop a mixed-use site.

In February, Houston’s Grand Parkway Transportation Corp. announced it will sell another $733 million of bond-anticipation notes to help finance the massive toll road project. This is in addition to a $2.6 billion municipal bond sale in July 2013.

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desertpunk said:

Segment of Grand Parkway about to get a running start

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