Construction has been under way for almost a year on a huge highway improvement project in southern Hunt County.
But it will likely be about another 12 months or so before motorists will be able to drive across an expanded Two-Mile Bridge/State Highway 276, the main connector between West Tawakoni in Hunt County and East Tawakoni in Rains County.
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) awarded a bid in September 2012 to widen the roadway from two to four lanes. Williams Brothers Construction Company was chosen for the $47.85 million project to replace the 52-year old bridge over Lake Tawakoni.
TxDOT spokesman Tray Turner said Friday that the contractor had completed 99 out of 440 of the drilled shafts.
“They are currently working on the columns and caps,” Turner said. “The anticipated completion date is summer to fall 2015.”
Phase 1 of the project is involving the installation of drill shafts, columns, caps, bents, beams and slabs for the new bridge, which is being constructed immediately to the north of and parallel to the existing bridge. Traffic will continue to run on the existing bridge during the initial phase.
Subsequent construction phases will tie the new bridge alignment to the existing State Highway 276 roadway, and demolishing the existing bridge.
Turner said the beams being used cover 101,575 linear feet.
“Stacked end to end that is approximately 19 miles to be completed,” Turner explained, adding the road deck covers another 816,000 square feet. “Equivalent to about 14 football fields goal post to goal post.”