News
GOOD NEWS, COMMUTERS
May 3, 2010
| The $4 billion LBJ Managed Lanes Project will start construction in mid-2011 with a 2016 completion target. With 270k vehicles traveling the road daily (projected at 500k cars daily by 2020), it's a whole lot of road rage to remedy. | |||
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| Andy Rittler of developer/contractor the LBJ Infrastructure Group says it'll try to keep as many lanes open as possible during construction. He aimed to alleviate traffic fears Thursday at a breakfast hosted by Parmenter Realty Partners at the Westin Park Central. With Parmenter's Park Central 7*8*9 at LBJ near the High Five, its Southwest Region COO Cindy Cohn tells us she wants tenants to realize that construction won't make traffic the nightmare many imagine. Andy says completion of the High Five means the worst is over for that part of the LBJ. The companies in the LBJ Infrastructure public-partnership are Cintra (51% owner of the project), Meridiam Infrastructure, Dallas Police and Fire Pension System, Houston-based WW Webber, and Ferrovial Agroman. | |||
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| The project keeps the same number of lanes, but adds a continuous frontage road and four toll lanes. The concept is to work from the outside in with sound walls built first, then the overpasses. The first three years of construction, Andy says, will have the most intense impact on motorists getting on and off LBJ. Of course, there are incentives to work in non-peak hours: the LBJ partnership pays the state about $6k/hour to “rent†the roads during off-peak times and up to $32k/hour to build during rush-hour—generating revenue from tolls. | |||
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| The project footprint goes from Loop 12 to Luna Road, about 14 miles, with two additional managed lanes each way (the HOV will go away). Strangest aspect: the project guarantees no delays on the toll portion. How? If traffic goes less than 50 mph, the tolls increase to drive off the more frugal motorists. | |||
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| This rendering shows how the managed lanes will be about 25 feet below the surface in some areas. A couple more points from Andy: market demand will drive toll amounts (staying below a 75 cent state cap per toll plaza); and it will double the current road capacity. The new LBJ will offer motorists a choice, Andy says. "Right now, there is no choice. You get on LBJ and sit in traffic. It will be a little bit of a pain over five years, but the result will be an asset to Dallas." |
