February 2004

(Dallas/ Fort Worth, Texas) - ZCC crews continued their progress on the High Five project with the opening of the interchange’s first direct connector.

The high-elevation ramp connecting eastbound Interstate Highway 635 with northbound U.S. Highway 75 opened for traffic December 19, 2003. A ribbon-cutting ceremony on December 18 was attended by Dallas Mayor Laura Miller, Dallas City Council members, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) representatives and Zachry executives and team members.

“Everybody’s amazed at being able to see the area around there from the higher elevation. It offers an excellent vantage point,” said Zachry manager Jason Estes. “It’s definitely already improving traffic in the area.”

The completion has allowed crews to begin the next phase of the project, which entails wide-scale main lane pavement on IH 635. The direct connector links eastbound IH 635 to southbound U.S. main lane pavement and bridge construction. The high occupancy vehicle (HOV) flyover on U.S. 75 will be among the last portions of the project to be completed.

Because a series of 25 bridge bents on the HOV flyover cannot be completed until the mainlanes are paved, the team will first pave the northbound main lanes and then divert traffic to those completed lanes and pave the southbound main lanes.

The High Five project – the simultaneous demolition and reconstruction of the Interstate Highway 635 and U.S. Highway 75 interchange in Dallas – is a five-year, $262 million undertaking. The project is one of the largest ever undertaken by Zachry and TxDOT.

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