| Have road work, will still travel City planning now for High Five tie-ups 04/08/2001 By Sarah Post / The Dallas Morning News The city already is preparing for the traffic headaches expected when construction begins on the LBJ Freeway-Central Expressway interchange, the High Five.
The city has a new Advanced Traffic Management Center, which will allow monitoring of construction as it happens, said Richardson transportation director Walter Ragsdale. And traffic signals can be quickly adjusted to handle increased traffic. The Texas Department of Transportation also will meet with city officials monthly to discuss the work path and schedule.
The Transportation Department took a major step last week toward construction of the Dallas High Five when it opened bids for the project. At $260 million, the lowest bid will make rebuilding the interchange by far the most expensive highway contract awarded in state history.
Construction is scheduled to begin next January and last four years rather than six because of an innovative contractor bonus and penalty system. Crews will begin by widening frontage roads and moving them out to make room for the mammoth interchange. This work is expected to last two years.
"So it will be 2004 before there is major work being done on the main lanes of traffic," Mr. Ragsdale said. "The real impact is to people who actually have to use the interchange."
The city is surveying drivers to see where they come from and where they are going. That should give officials a better idea of how many cars will need to be diverted. The interchange, a gateway to Richardson, handles 400,000 cars a day.
Meanwhile, Richardson is making sure there are alternatives to the interchange, including Spring Valley Road, Coit Road and the President George Bush Turnpike.
"The turnpike is the biggest benefit to us," Mr. Ragsdale said, explaining that it will offer an alternative express route. The turnpike is still under construction, but a section that will complete the link to Interstate 35 is expected to open in about a year.
New topping is being completed on Coit Road between Campbell and Spring Valley roads to ensure a high-quality north-south roadway, and $18 million is being spent to widen Spring Valley Road and Centennial Boulevard.
The Texas Department of Transportation is building a tunnel interchange at Spring Valley Road and Central Expressway. Once it is complete, motorists on Spring Valley will drive under the frontage roads and will not have to stop at Central, officials said.
Bill Baehner, general manager for Micro Center at Keystone Park, said the construction on Spring Valley Road worries him more than the future construction of the High Five.
"Overall, we've had a lot of complaints from our customers who use that intersection," he said.
Mr. Baehner said demographics show that most of his customers drive less than 20 miles to the store, though he said he is not sure how they will be affected by the construction of the High Five.
"Any time you tear up the roads, it's very adverse to business," he added. "It's especially unfortunate for a business who may have spent millions renovating."
Texas Land and Cattle Steak House, just north of Spring Valley on the Central frontage road, recently re-opened after extensive renovations following a fire late last year.
Managing partner Brian Martin said the construction was a factor in the decision to rebuild. Company officials decided they would just market that restaurant more carefully.
"We would probably be foolish to think it wouldn't affect us," Mr. Martin said, but added that most of the restaurant's customers come from the north, Richardson and the Telecom Corridor, and won't have to go through the worst of the construction.
Staff writer Sarah Post can be reached at 972-234-3198, ext. 124 and at .
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