Contract Approved for Dallas North Tollway/Sam Rayburn Tollway Interchange

The NTTA Board of Directors awarded the construction contract on Dec. 16, 2009, to build the Sam Rayburn Tollway (SRT)/Dallas North Tollway (DNT) interchange in the cities of Frisco and Plano.

The NTTA opened project bids on Nov. 24, 2009, and the apparent low bidder was Williams Brothers Construction Company Inc. of Houston. The Williams Brothers’ bid of approximately $79.4 million came in well under the NTTA’s estimate of $108 million for the project, which translates to more than $28 million in savings.

The construction will add a fourth and fifth level to the existing three-level interchange through the construction of eight direct-connect bridges between the SRT and the DNT. The construction also involves adding new ramp access to the Legacy Business Park area and making local access improvements near the new SRT/DNT interchange.

The new, fully directional interchange will allow traffic to flow continuously through the busy area, further improving regional mobility. When the new interchange opens, drivers no longer will have to exit the DNT and then take the service road to access the SRT main lanes.

The NTTA has an aggressive delivery schedule for the project, which is known as Segment 5. The interchange is on schedule to open to traffic in January 2012.

The Authority’s goal is to issue the notice to proceed as soon as possible so that the contractor may begin its work.

The NTTA opened the third segment of the SRT corridor in September 2009, three months ahead of schedule. Segment 3 extends from Hillcrest Road to Hardin Boulevard in Collin County.

Meanwhile, the Authority’s construction of Segment 4, another major SRT interchange, continues. The four-level SRT/U.S. 75 (Central Expressway) interchange in the communities of Allen, Fairview and McKinney is approximately 42 percent complete. It is expected to open to traffic in January 2011.