Podcast Transcript

Project Overview

CRAWFORD

Welcome to this episode of the SH 360 podcast. I am your host, Jason Crawford, and I’m the SH 360 Mobility Coordinator. In this episode I’ll provide an overview of the SH 360 and Division Street interchange reconstruction project.

The interchange of SH 180/Division Street with SH 360 has long been a bottleneck along SH 360. With no continuous frontage roads connecting Randol Mill Road and Abram Street, and short entrance and exit ramps near the Union Pacific Railroad bridge, the roadway was bottlenecked resulting in much lower vehicle speeds in the peak travel periods causing congestion. The Union Pacific Railroad bridge was built wide enough to allow eight lanes of traffic through – three mainlanes and one auxiliary lane in each direction.

The new interchange will cure the bottleneck. The key to this construction project is the construction of a new, wider, steel Union Pacific Railroad bridge crossing over SH 360. When the new railroad bridge is complete, it will be wide enough for two frontage road lanes, three mainlanes and wide shoulders in each direction to pass underneath , or about 350 feet wide.

The old design of ramps directly to and from Division Street at SH 360 are changing to a design that uses the new continuous frontage roads to allow both vehicles to safely slow down to access Division Street or to safely accelerate to highway speeds as vehicle enter the highway. The importance of the new continuous frontage roads through this area can’t be understated.

To accommodate use of the new continuous frontage roads, the access ramps immediately north of Abram Street will be reversing operation. Where there is a northbound entrance ramp from Abram Street, that ramp will be reconstructed as a new exit ramp for Division Street and Randol Mill Road. Moving to the southbound exit ramp in front of General Motors to Abram Street, that ramp will be reconstructed as the new entrance ramp to southbound SH 360 from Division Street and Randol Mill Road.

Access between Division Street and the continuous frontage roads will be by new ramps that will carry two lanes of traffic. Turning back to the new Union Pacific Railroad bridge, other work will be completed on Union Pacific Railroad property to add a fourth mainline rail across the bridge with track work for this between Great Southwest Parkway and Stadium Drive. Additionally, work will be performed replacing track connections between the Union Pacific Railroad yard and the General Motors Assembly Plant. All of this work will be performed while the railroad is operating on the adjacent tracks. As you see progress on the railroad bridge, you can expect the roadway improvements underneath follow.

The new SH 180/Division Street section will continue to be two eastbound and two westbound lanes maintaining the roadway’s current capacity. Two new concrete bridges will carry this traffic over SH 360.

The challenges are many for this project. I’ll discuss the top two challenges. First, as with all reconstruction projects maintaining traffic and mobility through the project is important. There will be lane closures and in limited situations full closures of a roadway or highway. Full closures are only used when the situation calls for protecting motorists from potential hazards such as placing bridge beams, demolishing bridge structures, or placing concrete over travel lanes for instance. Major special events in the area are considered when scheduling work requiring a highway closure and detour. Second, the progress on the new bridge is dependent on many factors including prescribed windows during the year to complete track work when the Union Pacific Railroad yard and the General Motors Assembly Plant are closed.

Work on this construction project began in March 2009. The project is anticipated to be complete in winter 2012.

That closes this episode of the SH 360 podcasts. Please be sure to sign up for construction email alerts and check back for updated content.

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Also, check out our sister website, keep30moving.org for the latest news and construction alerts on the I-30 reconstruction in north Arlington.

Keep your eyes and ears on keep360moving.org.