Five years after shovels initially hit the ground, a key gateway between Austin and the rapidly growing communities west of the city has opened.
A joint venture of Fluor and Balfour Beatty completed the $677 million Oak Hill Parkway project in southwest Austin, Texas, according to a Sept. 25 news release.
The project, part of the Texas DOT’s Clear Lanes initiative, reconstructed and widened about 7 miles of U.S. Route 290 and state Highway 71 through Oak Hill. Work expanded the road from two to three lanes in each direction, according to the Irving, Texas-based contractor.
Other key features of the project include direct-connect flyovers between U.S. Route 290 and state Highway 71 and a new overpass at William Cannon Drive. The JV team also replaced the former Y-interchange with a more efficient single-point urban interchange configuration, according to the release.
Additional improvements include new frontage roads and shared-use paths throughout the corridor, in addition to bicycle and pedestrian accommodations. The improved roadway system is now fully open to traffic, though final project activities, such as landscaping, paving and striping, will continue.
Fluor expects final completion by the end of the year, according to the contractor.
Fluor, Balfour Beatty pair up again in Texas
Fluor and Balfour Beatty have teamed up previously on other highway projects in the Lone Star state.
For example, Texas DOT tapped the pair of contractors in 2019 to design and reconstruct a section of Interstate 635 in Dallas. Scope on that project included work to widen and rehabilitate about 11 miles of the interstate, according to Fluor.
In 2017, the contractors also won an award to design and build the $625 million Southern Gateway highway project in Dallas. Scope included the addition of a fifth lane in each direction along an 11-mile stretch of I-35 and two reversible, non-toll express lanes.
