NTAA officials hope to open bridge by end of June
An unseasonably wet spring again has pushed back the reopening to traffic in both directions of Cedar Springs Road across the Dallas North Tollway bridge.
The bridge where Cedar Springs eastbound has been closed since October for a widening project initially was slated to reopen by the end of March.
In April, NTTA officials pushed that date back to early June due to wet weather combined with utility relocation issues. And on Wednesday, May 30, NTTA engineering director Mark Bouma said the authority now hopes to reopen the bridge by June 29 at the latest.
“We’re going to try to beat that, but if you’re a better forecaster of the weather than we are, I’m ready to bring you on board,” Bouma said, adding that the project site saw more than 6 inches of rain in May. “We need a few dry days to be able to get that work in. With it raining virtually every day, it’s been difficult to get in and be able to get the subgrade stiff enough to where we can pave on it.”
Crews have poured the bridge deck, Bouma said, but still must install rails and pave approaches.
After the south half of the bridge reopens to one lane of traffic in both directions, demolition and reconstruction of the north half will begin. That work is expected to be done by late summer.
Widening of the Cedar Springs bridge is part of a $50 million project to revitalize the south end of the tollway. The project also includes replacement of the original toll plaza at Wycliff Avenue, repaving of the tollway between Lemmon Avenue and Interstate 35; replacement of the Oak Lawn bridge, and the widening of Oak Lawn Avenue to six lanes between Maple Avenue and Interstate 35.
It is scheduled to be finished in spring 2008.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition, June 1, 2007.
