CORINTH — The City Council will consider taking action Thursday on spending $1.8 million to reconstruct two city roads officials said they identified as potential detours for motorists once major construction on Interstate 35E begins.
Officials identified Shady Rest Lane and Tower Ridge Drive for reconstruction to make the roads safer and accommodating for the motorists seeking alternate routes during road closures and traffic congestion related to the interstate construction. The projects are among a number approved by the city recently in response to the expansion of I-35E.
“This will be a complete rebuild of both roads,” said Public Works Director Justin Brown.
Brown recommended council members take a hard look at those roads two months ago during a City Council meeting. Brown said he expects the roads to become detours once Corinth Parkway and other various roads are closed for service.
Without the reconstruction projects, the roads “do not come anywhere close to meeting the criteria of a collector road and pose safety challenges,” according to city documents.
City staff officials report that Shady Rest Lane is a safety hazard because of the road’s narrow width, sight-distance issues and the maintenance needed to provide a drivable surface. The report also states that the roads are deteriorating.
Tower Ridge sits to the west of I-35E, while Shady Rest sits to the east. Each road provides motorists with alternate routes that lead to multiple access points to the interstate.
Brown predicts the roads will be used as detours for at least 18 months.
Thursday’s agenda has four items related to the project, including the respective design contracts for improvements to the roadways and the budget amendments requested to fund the design and construction.
The council also will consider hiring Freese and Nichols Inc. for the engineering design of Tower Ridge and Halff Associates for similar engineering design for Shady Rest Lane.
In previous meetings, a general consensus among council members was to rebuild each road in preparation for changes in the traffic flow.
The proposed funding to pay for the project is expected to be pulled from multiple sources, which includes bonds, the city’s street maintenance tax fund, roadway impact fees and the city’s drainage fund, Brown said.
The 35Express project extends about 30 miles, through nine cities and two counties, from U.S. Highway 380 in Denton County to Interstate 635 in Dallas County.
The project is expected to relieve traffic congestion in traffic heavy corridors, Texas Department of Transportation officials say.
Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the project are scheduled to make improvements on I-35E and Interstate 35 between U.S. 380 in Denton County and I-635 in Dallas County. The northern segment of the project extends from U.S. 380 in Denton to Swisher Road.
Phase 1, which includes Corinth, is expected to be complete by mid-2017.
Phase 2 will begin after Phase 1 is complete and once funds have been identified.
The Corinth City Council meeting begins at 7 p.m. Thursday at Corinth City Hall, 3300 Corinth Parkway.
JOHN D. HARDEN can be reached at 940-566-6882 and via Twitter at @JDHarden.
