TxDOT Horseshoe Project

A Fluor-led joint venture, Pegasus Link Constructors LLC (PLC), received the last Notice to Proceed by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for the build phase of the design-build contract for the Horseshoe Project in Dallas in August 2013. PLC, while self-performing 60 percent of the construction work, also subcontracted with additional specialty consultants responsible for design, independent quality assurance and environmental compliance geotechnical engineering, as well as local and DBE subcontractors and material providers for construction scope not performed by the venture. An optional 15-year Capital Maintenance Agreement will be performed by PLC if TxDOT elects to issue this scope after Final Acceptance of the Project.

Client's Challenge

The Horseshoe Project's scope of work included I-30 from Sylvan Avenue to east of I-35E and I-35E from north of Eighth Street to north of the I-30/I-35E interchange in Dallas, as well as construction of a fully designed Santiago Calatrava signature bridge.

The I-30 and I-35E corridor carries more than 460,000 vehicles per weekday. Portions of the corridor were rated ninth and 17th on TxDOT's 2012 most congested roadways report. The project corrected some of the existing geometric issues causing congestion, repaired and replaced some of the deteriorating structures and added capacity to the interchange and frontage roads.

TxDOT utilized design-build project delivery, which resulted in a shorter construction schedule and lower overall cost.

Fluor's Solution

PLC's scope of work included replacing the I-30 & I-35E bridges crossing the Trinity River to upgrade the outdated geometry of the major interchange, as well as constructing additional lanes to add capacity.

The Fluor-led partnership erected the first haunch girder on the I-35 crossing of the Trinity River in the summer of 2013. The beam was one component of the 1,000-foot spliced-girder unit across the river.

There were a total of six bridges of this type with the same span length. Beam installation was self-performed using two cranes owned by Fluor and provided to PLC. Fluor also provided a third large lattice boom crane to the project.

The design-build project required the erection of 3,390 girders in the expansion and the addition of several new bridges and roadways along I-30 and I-35E, including a new signature bridge, the Margaret McDermott Bridge, over I-30.

The project received Fluor's 2018 Hugh K. Coble Award for excellence in project delivery.

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Conclusion

The Horseshoe Project reconstructed the existing I-30 and I-35 bridges across the Dallas Floodway and connected roadways where they converge near downtown Dallas's Central Business District. The project also included operational improvements along IH-30 in the Canyon area, which was necessary to maintain a balance among mobility, access and safety needs.

Construction was completed in 2017.