Published: May 07, 2008 08:30 pm            

Road work going quickly

TxDOT: Yearlong project may complete in seven months

Work along the busy Seventh Avenue/State Highway 31 corridor, inside Corsicana, may complete quicker than originally anticipated, according to the Texas Department of Transportation’s area engineer.

Darwin Myers of TxDOT said the $3.1 million project to work on traffic signals and some road surface replacement was originally slated for about a year’s time. It now may be finished as quickly as about seven months.

“(Contractors) were actually allowed a year on the contract,” Myers said Wednesday. “They’re moving with good speed on that contract.”

He’s estimating a final completion date of “around August” for the entirety of the project, which also includes replacement work on U.S. Highway 287 under the Interstate 45 overpass.

At present, the contractor has completed everything on Highway 31 west of 41st Street, which is at Navarro College.

“We’re working on the outside lanes from 41st Street to 34th,” Myers said. “We’re hoping to be finished with that section by the end of this week.”

Next, the construction workers will switch to work on the two inside lanes, and the left-turn lane, in that same stretch of road.

Myers said they’re hoping to finish all work on Highway 31, including the replacement work under that highway’s I-45 overpass, by the Memorial Day weekend. He said that goal is in place to help with the heavier-than-normal flow of traffic that occurs on the unofficial start of the summer holiday/vacation season.

The work on Highway 287 at I-45 is expected to begin after Memorial Day, with Myers saying that start time was also selected to avoid conflict with the holiday weekend.

“They’re going along well with the whole project,” Myers said, while noting that weather could always cause some project delays. “That’s a very good thing ... we won’t have to be out (working) on the roadways as long as originally estimated.”

—————

Loyd Cook may be reached via e-mail at lcook@corsicanadailysun.com

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.