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Interstate 35 Expansion
- Waco
FAQs
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When will construction
actually begin? |
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The Hillsboro, Waco and Temple areas have been experiencing
initial phase construction projects for several years.
However, federally-funded American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act (ARRA) and Texas voter-approved Prop 12 construction
projects for I-35 will begin in 2010. Initial construction
projects creating major interchanges, for the interstate and
major connecting roadways in the urban areas specifically in
Temple, Waco and Hillsboro are already providing improved
traffic flow in those areas. Additional main lane
construction in these and the rural areas of the corridor
will be underway within at least three years.
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Approximately how long a
period of time will it take from start to finish? |
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Due to the 94-mile length of the project, construction will take three to five
years to complete. Right of Way acquisition and the utility relocation process
will be the major issue determining the overall length of time required for this
expansion.
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Which areas will be under
construction first? |
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Some areas in Waco and Temple/Belton already have three lanes in each direction.
Construction will start in these areas and move north and south to fill in the
gaps. The priority areas include south of the I-35E/I-35W split in Hill County,
Loop 340 on the south side of Waco toward Hewitt and on the North side toward
West, the Belton area south toward Salado and south of Salado to the Williamson
County Line.
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Will the proposed
improvements provide a solution to current traffic conditions or will
they allow for future anticipated growth as well? |
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These added capacity projects will improve the current traffic conditions by
providing a safer, more efficient facility. Improvements are based on projected
traffic conditions for the year 2025. In the urban areas of the corridor, there
are greater issues involved in determining the maximum number of lanes that are
feasible. If some of those issues become so great that capacity cannot be
achieved on the existing corridor, for planning purposes, alternate routes may
have to be considered.
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What solution is proposed
for existing traffic while rebuilding I-35? |
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Two options are being considered. First, in the rural areas of the corridor, two
lanes will remain open at all times in each direction of travel. Concrete
barriers will separate the traveling public from the construction work zones and
emergency "pull over" areas will exist within all phases of construction.
Second, freeway reconstruction projects have additional options that allow
traffic to continue while it is being reconstructed. We are evaluating the
possibility, in the urban areas, of diverting traffic to alternate facilities
which would be designated as construction relief routes.
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What about safety and speed
limits during construction? |
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TxDOT will work with cities, communities and local law enforcement agencies to
implement a plan for active speed control. The Department is also working on an
Incident Management Plan to notify drivers of alternate routes during unexpected
events.
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If you add more lanes,
won't the traffic increase even more? |
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If you build it they will come. We have projections for as
much as twice the current traffic volume on I-35 by 2025 due
to tremendous growth in Texas and NAFTA.
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Can designated lanes of IH
35 be used for truck traffic? |
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The project will include lanes that are "restricted" to trucks, providing
smaller vehicles at least one lane free of large commercial haulers.
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Can a completely different
highway be built missing all towns? |
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Long range planning will require studying alternate means of
accommodating traffic, beyond the year 2025. However, a
majority of the existing facility was built between 1953 and
1965 making it anywhere from 45 to nearly 60 years old. Some
existing pavement and bridges are in immediate need of
reconstruction and being brought up to current design
standards. Creating a new highway is a future option, but it
would be unlikely that it would "miss" all towns.
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What are you doing to look
into reducing the noise level of the road surface of the highway? |
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A newly developed Porous Friction Course ( PFC) hot mix
asphalt surface, which is more durable and reduces noise,
is one option being considered. Additionally, TxDOT will use
Traffic Noise Modeling software to identify where the use of
sound barriers may be feasible.
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