Arlington, TX

We all hate road construction, especially when it seems never-ending. A reader recently asked me if I knew what the holdup was with the South Collins Street project so I decided to try and find out.

South Collins Street between Mayfield Rd. and Pioneer Pkwy. has been under construction since April of 2006. The project included street reconstruction, the addition of a fifth and sixth lane, drainage, sidewalks, streetlights, pavement markings, median landscaping and irrigation improvements. Growing up in the area, I can tell you that every rainstorm meant a minefield of potholes down South Collins so it was a much needed change, and essential for the traffic that will come with the new Cowboys stadium. It was expected to be finished by April of 2007, but an abundance of rain in the spring delayed the project.

For months, traffic has been diverted to the northbound lanes, leaving one lane for each direction of traffic flow. It’s a dangerous situation, especially when frustrated or confused drivers drive down the wrong side which, according to my reader, happens quite often. For weeks, the pavement has been finished in the southbound lanes and, in driving by today, I noticed that the striping and landscaping also appears to be done. Street lamps have been installed and, to the naked eye, it appears to be ready to open.

To find out when the city expects to open the southbound lanes, I emailed Stu Bauman, an engineer with the Public Works department. Mr. Bauman said:

The rains earlier this year certainly slowed down construction operations. More major delays were caused by franchise utility conflicts early in the project.

Although the paving of the street is finished. Lane striping, street light installation, median landscaping & irrigation, etc needs to be done. Half of the street must be kept closed to allow worker/machinery access to the medians and keep the workers and the public safe.

We are expecting the contractor to have it open within the next two weeks.

After that, there will still be construction activity (with minor lane closures) for miscellaneous landscaping and sidewalk work.

So there you have it. Hopefully the traffic will be flowing more efficiently and more safely sometime in the next couple of weeks. I look forward to the grand re-opening of the road!