A project to build a new bridge to span White Rock Creek on Northwest Highway has been delayed about 90 days so that workers can replace outdated gas and sewer lines. Construction on the new bridge is expected to start in September. The three existing bridges must be replaced because they are in a flood plain. The new bridge will be about 9 feet higher.
Construction is expected to continue until about the middle of 2011, Texas Department of Transportation spokeswoman Cynthia Northrop White said. Crews expect to take that stretch of Northwest Highway down to two lanes in each direction during bridge construction. “There are always some growing pains, and we want to make sure that we have as many lanes open as possible,” White said.
The $31 million project, which the city and county are partnering to pay for, won’t encroach on any parkland, and it includes beautification projects. It will include a pedestrian underpass, concrete and wrought iron planters and other landscaping. Part of that is funded by the department’s Green Ribbon Project. “It was a long time coming in making sure that it would be a project that everyone would be proud of,” White said.
