April 26, 2001

(Austin, Texas) – The single, most expensive highway construction project in Texas history – a $261 million, five-level interchange in north Dallas – was approved today by state transportation officials.

The Texas Transportation Commission approved a contract for the interchange at U.S. 75 and Interstate 635 – dubbed the Dallas High Five project – with Zachry, the lowest of four bidders on the project.

The interchange will be designed with direct connector ramps between freeways, Texas U-turns, dedicated HOV lanes, as well as reversible HOV lanes.

Construction is expected to begin this summer, with major work starting in early 2002. The five-year construction project will double capacity and increase the efficiency of the interchange, which currently handles nearly 500,000 vehicles a day.

"This project is designed to meet today’s traffic jams and tomorrow’s future mobility needs," said John W. Johnson, Texas transportation commissioner. "The innovations in this project address your expectations to build it quicker, better and safer. You want the project sooner, and that’s what we’ll do."

The contract includes incentives and fines aimed at keeping the project on schedule and reducing the impact on motorists.

If the project is finished a year early, the contractor can earn up to $11.5 million but can also be penalized $80,000 for every day the project is late.

In order to minimize travel delays, lane rental fees, which are fines against the contractor for lane closures during certain times of the day, are also built into the contract.

Once completed, the Dallas High Five project will improve mobility and safety, as well as the region’s air quality, a critical factor in the city’s ability to retain federal funding for future highway construction.

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