AUSTIN, TX Four bridge projects and three road projects are among 10 different contracts recently awarded for increased mobility and safety along highways in the Austin area. The Texas Transportation Commission approved $21.8 million worth of work in Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties.

Dan Williams Company will make intersection improvements and add auxiliary lanes, or extended entrance/exit lanes to allow drivers to match speeds prior to merging, on north and southbound Loop 360 between Loop 1 (MoPac) and Walsh Tarlton. The project also includes adding a third left-turn lane on the northbound frontage road of MoPac at Loop 360, replacing traffic signals, and adjusting signal timing. Construction on the $6.4 million project will begin this winter and is estimated to be complete by spring 2017.

A project on RM 620 will help improve traffic flow between Ladera Boulevard and Lohman's Crossing Road in western Travis County. Aaron Concrete Contractors won the $1.4 million job which includes adding an extended entrance/exit lane in the southbound direction from Lohman's Crossing Road to Spillman Loop. Additional improvements include allowing dual left-turn lanes onto RM 620 from the intersections of Falcon Head and Ladera Boulevards. Work is expected to begin later this fall and take three months to complete.

Aaron Concrete Contractors also has a new project on SH 195. The new contract will construct a median and left-turn lanes between Sun City Boulevard and Bonnet Lane at a cost of $520,000. Work is expected to begin later this year and be complete in late spring 2016.  

Bridge projects in Blanco and Hays counties include replacing two bridges destroyed in the Memorial Day floods. Capital Excavation Company will replace the bridge on RM 165 just outside of Blanco. The $1.2 million project is expected to wrap up by next fall. Also on the Blanco River, Dan Williams Company will replace the Fischer Store Road bridge. Construction on the $2.47 million project has already begun and should be complete by next spring.

Two bridges on US 183 are up for replacement. Angel Brothers won a $2.45 million contract for the bridge work at North Rocky Creek in Burnet County, and Relmco bid $2.7 million to replace the bridge at Clear Fork Plum Creek in Caldwell County. The work could be complete by next fall.

Several road resurfacing projects will make highways smoother and safer.

Jordan Foster Construction will repair the pavement, add shoulders and add safety treatments to drainage culverts on FM 972. The project stretches five miles from I-35 to near CR 150, at a cost of $4.1 million. The work should be complete by spring 2017. In Travis County, Loop 1 south of US 290/SH 71 will be resurfaced with the new thin overlay mixture developed by an Austin engineer. The $1.1 million contract to put down the highly durable new asphalt treatment went to Lone Star Paving Company. Work is dependent on the weather, but should be complete next summer.

The Levy Company will be adding and replacing signs across the Austin area. The $278,620 contract will cover work on various highways in the coming months.