US 290E Toll Lane Reconstruction

Kennedy Consulting, Inc. (KCI), a JMT Company, provided design as the prime consultant for the $65-million reconstruction of three miles of US 290E near Manor, TX. US 290E is the main east-west connector between I-35, the interstate highway connecting Austin to Dallas, and SH-130, a toll road approximately seven miles west of I-35. US 290E was a four-lane divided arterial with signalized intersections, and this project upgraded it to a six-lane, controlled access tolled freeway with frontage roads, ramps, direct connectors, and grade-separated intersections. The reconstruction of US 290E was split into three separate projects, which required regular coordination meetings with the lead designer for the other two projects.

KCI was responsible for the horizontal and vertical design, grade-separated intersections, ramp reversals to improve traffic operations, ADA-compliant shared-use paths, retaining walls, landscaping, and aesthetic treatment of structures. Key concerns for this project were long-term maintenance, accommodating future tollway extensions, and minimizing customer delay and/or inconvenience.

KCI also re-designed a portion of the five-level US 290E/SH-130 interchange because the existing schematic did not provide adequate transitions at direct connector merges or adequate vertical clearance of future direct connectors. Through our review and redesign, we helped to accommodate phased construction of the interchange in the future and reduce future costs by $8 million.