|
Work begins on US 79 upgrade By KURT JOHNSON County will pay without TxDOT guarantee Work has begun to turn a stretch of US 79 west of Taylor into a divided, four-lane highway. Williamson County Pct. 4 Commissioner Frankie Limmer said the section of highway to be improved will be from the point where Mustang Creek crosses US 79 west of Taylor to a point less than a mile east of FM 3349 near Frame Switch. Crews could be seen surveying the area Thursday. Pete Correa, Limmer's executive assistant, said the upgrade is projected to take a year and a half, but with decent weather it could be finished faster. According to Correa, all the right-of-way has been acquired and it will not be necessary to move or displace any structures for that stretch of the highway's improvement. There were five bidders on the project, and the winning bid was awarded to Joe Bland Construction Company of Austin. Bland's bid was about $5.83 million. Limmer said he considered trying to get the project approved as part of a new reimbursement program set up by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), but that process would require more time and he didn't want to delay construction for safety reasons. "There have been a lot of accidents on that stretch of road," Limmer said, "and I just didn't want to wait any longer since we could go ahead and do it now through the county's road bond program." Limmer said the reimbursement program will be utilized for future projects when the time frame isn't as critical. "It's a new TxDOT program, and we're just now getting information on how it works," Limmer said. According to Limmer, that program allows counties to build or improve state highways at their own expense and then have a percentage of that cost reimbursed over time by TxDOT based on the traffic using the highways. In December, Williamson County commissioners approved asking state legislators to fine-tune the program's requirements so that counties that use it will be guaranteed their reimbursement if they pay for such improvements up-front. Correa said that at a meeting this week regarding a different project, TxDOT revealed plans to improve US 79 west of Hutto toward Round Rock. The proposal would convert US 79 into a four-lane, divided highway from the intersection of US 79 and FM 685 toward Round Rock for a distance of four or five miles. Correa said he didn't know when that project might begin. The agreement for the current project with Bland Construction requires monthly reports from the contractor, approval of the project engineer for all stockpile sites, required utility infrastructure identification before digging, and submission by the contractor of a detailed schedule, along with weekly work status meetings. The contract also requires the company to maintain driveway access at all times and to do at least 30 percent of the work without using subcontractors. The contractor must also cause minimum disruption of traffic. "The safety of the public and convenience of traffic shall be regarded as prime importance," the contract states. "The contractor shall plan and execute his operations in a manner that will cause the minimum interference with traffic."
|
