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Feb 26, 2009 5:29 pm US/Central
Feds Approve Funding For I-635 Expansion Project
Marianne Martinez
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
The state has awarded $4 billion for a project to expand I-635 from Luna Road to the High Five and Greenville Avenue.
The project will reconstruct all of the existing lanes, including the frontage roads. It will also add six lanes of toll roads underneath the existing roads. The idea came from community meetings, authorities say.
"They did not want us to go higher or wider. So we're going down with the new design," said Bob Brown, TxDOT Deputy District Engineer.
About $445 million of the project's cost is from gasoline taxes and the rest is funded by the private sector. A total of 2,000 new jobs will also be created during the design and construction.
Stephen Taylor with the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce said the project will also help existing businesses by providing "access for shoppers, clients, workers and employees."
A Spanish firm, Cintra, is the project leader. They will partner with American companies, some of which are here in Texas, to get this project done.
Construction on the project will probably start early next year, and it will take about 5 years to complete. Drivers say that day can't come soon enough.
Interstate 635 is one of the busiest roadways in North Texas with over 270,000 cars traveling on it each day.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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