News Release: from the Katy Freeway Public Information Office
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North Post Oak Bridge Demo |
Tuesday, May 18th, 2004 |
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DEMOLITION OF NORTH POST OAK BRIDGE MARKS THE START OF A NEW MILESTONE FOR I-10/I-610 INTERCHANGE RECONSTRUCTION
"Upcoming Total Closure of the East and Westbound I-10 Mainlanes and Various I-10/I-610 Direct Connectors"
(Houston, Texas) – Major milestones are underway related to the I-10/I-610 Interchange reconstruction. Effective this week Williams Brothers (WB) Construction of Houston will start the clock ticking on yet another financially based construction milestone for the interchange reconstruction when they demolish the southbound lanes of the North Post Oak Bridge. Starting Thursday night, May 20 at 8 PM until 5 AM, Friday, May 21 the contractor will close the North Post Bridge to re -stripe the northbound bridge structure for two-way traffic and switch both north and southbound traffic onto the existing northbound bridge. This step constitutes the beginning of a 238 work day milestone for the contractor to reconstruct the North Post Oak Bridge into its final configuration and re-open new bridge to four lanes of traffic. There is a $30,000 a day incentive attached to the early completion of the bridge reconstruction, with a maximum incentive of $1,350,000. In the event it takes the contractor more than the 238 days allowed, WB will be assessed a penalty of $30,000 per day with no penalty limit.
The actual demolition of the southbound lanes of the North Post Oak Bridge will be performed over the course of this weekend May 21-24, 2004. Accordingly, a detailed traffic control plan has been developed to manage traffic in the vicinity of the I-10/I-610 Interchange. To perform this critical element of the I-10/I-610 Interchange reconstruction, a number of freeway closures will be required at varying times over the course of the weekend. The related freeway and ramp closures are detailed below including the scheduled dates, times and designated detours for each.
SCHEDULED CLOSURES AND DETOURS
Starting Friday, May 21 at 9 PM until 9 PM, Saturday, May 22* the mainlanes of I-10 east and westbound (including the HOV) between Silber and Washington Avenue will be closed. Simultaneously, the direct connectors from I-610 north and s outhbound to I-10 westbound will be closed.
• I-10 eastbound traffic will be detoured via the I-610 North and South direct connectors. Eastbound drivers can travel south to exit Woodway and make a U-turn to access I-10 East by way of the I-610 northbound to I-10 East direct connector. An alternate route to continue eastbound trave l will be to travel north on I-610 to exit 18th Street and make U-turn to access the I-610 s outh bound to I-10 East direct connector.
• I-10 westbound traffic will be provided four alternate detours:
1. I-10 westbound drivers can exit Washington Avenue to Old Katy Road to re-enter I- 10 westbound via the Silber entrance ramp.
2. The I-10 westbound direct connectors to I-610 North and South will remain open throughout the demolition, which will allow I-10 westbound drivers the option of detouring via the northbound ramp to I-610 to exit 18th Street and make a U-turn to access Old Katy Road to re-enter I-10 West via the Silber entrance ramp.
3. I-610 southbound traffic destine for I-10 West will also be detoured to Old Katy Road to access I-10 westbound via the Silber entrance ramp.
4. I-610 northbound traffic destine to I-10 West will be detoured to I-10 eastbound to exit Washing ton and directed to follow the detour to Old Katy Road to re- enter I-10 West using the Silber entrance ramp.
Removal and clean-up of the area over I-10 eastbound will be a main priority. Once the mainlanes of I-10 eastbound are clean the lanes will be reopened to traffic at or before 9 PM, Saturday May 15.
Starting Saturday, May 22 at 9 PM until 5 AM, Monday, May 24** th eI-10 eastbound direct connectors to I-610 north and s outhbound will be closed. Additionally, I-10 westbound and the direct connectors from I-610 North and South to I-10 West will remain closed. Each of the I-10 westbound detours indicated above will remain applicable.
• During this time period I-10 eastbound travel will be restored, however I-10 eastbound traffic to I610 north and south will be detoured from I-10 eastbound via Washington Avenue and directed to U-turn to access the I-10 westbound direct connectors to I-610 North and South.
Each of the closures and the designated detours discussed above will be indicated with advance notice signage and police officers will be on-duty to assist in the direction of traffic at the various freeway closures and intersections. Worth mentioning is the fact that the contractor is charged a "lane rental fee" of $32,000 per hour for total freeway closures, which inherently creates a secondary incentive to get the lanes open as quickly as possible. Also while the designated I-10 mainlanes and ramps are closed, TxDOT maintenance crews and the contractor will be taking advantage of the lane closures to perform roadway repairs and to address some key public issues like repaving the I-10 eastbound direct connectors to I-610.
For more information on the Katy Freeway Reconstruction Program including up to date information regarding other lane closures along the I-10 corridor, please visit the Katy Freeway website at www.katyfreeway.org or contact the Katy Freeway Public Information Office at 281-589-5924.
*Refer to the linked graphic "North Post Oak Bridge Demolition - Part I" for an illustration of the designated closures and detours.
**Refer to the linked graphic "North Post Oak Bridge Demolition -Part II" for an illustration of the designated closures and detours.
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