The Texas Department of Transportation highlighted a series of highway milestones, congestion-relief projects and emerging transportation technology in an Oct. 6 agency story reviewing September’s progress.
In the Austin area, the $679 million Oak Hill Parkway project officially opened in September after three decades of planning, construction and community input, TxDOT said. The agency said the project reconstructed the US 290/SH 71 interchange, built flyovers between the two highways, added nonstop mainlanes through the US 290 corridor and enhanced bicycle and pedestrian accommodations. Construction began in 2021.
In San Antonio, TxDOT said it launched construction on a $40 million project at the I-37 and Southeast Military Drive interchange that will introduce the city’s second diverging diamond interchange, along with a new bypass ramp, an additional southbound I-37 lane and shared-use paths. The agency estimates the project, due for completion in 2029, could reduce travel times on I-37 between Pecan Valley Drive and Loop 410 by 46% for northbound travelers and 81% for southbound travelers. Work also began on a $156 million overhaul of Loop 410 and U.S. 281 on the city’s north side, which TxDOT expects to reduce crashes and cut travel times by up to 70% when it is finished in 2029.
In Dallas County, September marked the ceremonial completion of the $1.7 billion I-635 East project, which reconstructed and widened 11 miles of I-635 between U.S. 75 and I-30 through Dallas, Garland and Mesquite, according to TxDOT. The agency said more than 200,000 vehicles use the corridor each day and that work continues on the $540 million U.S. 80/I-635 interchange project in Mesquite, which is 43% complete and expected to finish in late 2029.
Elsewhere, TxDOT said it began a nearly $700,000 lighting and safety project at seven intersections in Lubbock, Crosby, Yoakum and Gaines counties, and moved forward with a $10.6 million project to build truck parking for about 160 trucks along I-30 in Bowie County. A separate Titus County project is adding about 22 truck parking spaces near the I-30 weigh station west of Mount Pleasant. In the Rio Grande Valley, a new Stenger Street bridge opened in San Benito as part of a $13.7 million investment across 18 road and bridge projects in the Pharr District, the agency said.
The agency also said it launched Project Nexus at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, a three-year pilot testing how electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft could eventually be integrated into the state’s transportation system. According to TxDOT, initial flights are focused on collecting data and validating routes rather than carrying passengers, and future phases will explore medical and cargo transportation between rural and urban communities.