Interstate 35E (I-35E) from Interstate 635 to U.S. 380 in Dallas and Denton Counties is one of Texas’s top 100 congested highways. The project includes reconstruction and widening of a 45 kilometer (28 mile) section of I-35E to incorporate additional main lanes, general-purpose lanes, managed lanes and frontage roads. The corridor functions as a major urban artery for hundreds of thousands of commuters, handling almost 200,000 vehicles daily.

HDR is a partner in the design joint venture, responsible for leading the design management, roadway, drainage, utilities, half of the bridge design, maintenance of traffic/traffic control and all of the right-of-way acquisition activities. In addition, we are supporting the intelligent traffic system design, illumination design and environmental coordination.

The project will:

• Expand the existing managed lanes northward and general-purpose lanes throughout most of the project
• Complete or expand three major interchanges at Belt Line Road, Dickerson Parkway and state Highway 121
• Rehabilitate and replace 50 bridges and construct 40 new bridges to increase connectivity and ease traffic bottlenecks
• Design and construct a new 24 kilometer (1.5 mile) long bridge over Lake Lewisville
• Provide additional improvements that will increase traffic flow and improve safety throughout the corridor

The fully integrated Australian-Texas bridge design team expedited the designs by exploiting the time differentials between the geographic regions.