John King interchange work set to begin in March

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January 21, 2010

Anonymous The Zope Gazette Thu Jan 21, 2010, 02:38 AM CST

By Jim Hardin

Herald-Banner Staff

The construction project that will involve linking the new John King Boulevard under Interstate 30 is on schedule to begin in March.

County Commissioner Lorie Grinnan provided an update on the John King Boulevard project during Tuesday’s meeting of the Rockwall County Commissioners Court. She also brought commissioners up-to-date on Phase 1 of the Farm to Market 740 widening project, which also is scheduled to begin in March.

She elaborated on both projects after the meeting.

Grinnan said a pre-construction meeting for the John King Boulevard project was held recently. She attended the meeting, Grinnan said, along with Rockwall City Engineer Chuck Todd and representatives of the Texas Department of Transportation, the construction company and subcontractors.

Initial work, she said, will involve Atmos Energy relocating gas lines in the construction area. She added that officials still need to acquire some right of way for frontage roads that will be widened near the interchange

The project will link John King Boulevard, a 7.5-mile highway that stretches from Texas 205 south of Rockwall to Texas 205 north of the city. The new highway, however, does not cross I-30. During construction, I-30 will be elevated and the final portion of John King Boulevard will be constructed under the interstate.

The contract was awarded to Ed Bell Construction Co. of Dallas. Bell’s bid was about $19.6 million, which was below the estimated cost of about $23.8 million.

According to information provided late last year by TxDOT, the City of Rockwall will provide $186,121, Rockwall County will provide about $4.5 million and the balance will be provided by North Central Texas Council of Governments.

The City of Rockwall’s portion will cover landscaping, aesthetics and sidewalks.

The project is scheduled to be completed in 18-24 months.

The FM 740 project calls for widening the busy road from its current two lanes to a divided four-lane urban roadway. Utility relocation work is under way on Phase 1 of the project.

Part of the utility relocation work involves water and sewer lines. The contract for this work was awarded by the city of Rockwall. Soon, the City of Heath will award a contract for similar work along the portion of FM 740 located in that city’s jurisdiction.

Phase 1, considered to be the “northern” part of the project, is a 2.4-mile stretch that extends south from Horizon Road (FM 3097) in Rockwall to a T-intersection at FM 1140 in front of Fulton Academy in Heath.

Phase II — the “southern” phase — will involve continuing the widening project past Rockwall-Heath High School.

A $12.3 million contract for Phase 1 construction also has been awarded to Ed Bell Construction Co. Phase 1 construction is expected to take 24 months to complete.

State and federal funds will pay for Phase I construction.

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