Austin TX toller gets low-low bids - good time to build

Central Texas RMA, the Austin TX toller had estimates from PBS&J their general engineering consultants that their Manor Expressway (290Toll) first phase would cost around $120m when the project was in the early stages of design in 2006-2007. By earlier this year PBS&J had reduced their cost estimate to $75.1m. But when the six bids were opened Nov 23 they ranged between a low bid of $52m and a high of $63m.

The price in these depressed times will be rather less than half the boomtime costs of a couple of years back, and almost 30% below prices estimated as recently as early this year.

The project hadn't changed. Phase 1 involves the major expressway-to-expressway interchange at the Austin end of the larger approx $600m Manor Expressway or 290Toll project on US290 that is to consist of 10km (6.2 miles) of 2x3-lane toll expressway plus 2x3 lane free frontage roads.

US290 is a major radial route going east out of Austin and 290Toll will upgrade a busy segment and provide a link to TxDOT's 130Toll, the north-south tollroad going along the eastern periphery of the Austin metro area. It is named after the town of Manor just beyond its present planned terminus.

The major interchange work just bid as Phase 1 is dominated by four long elevated turning ramps to cater to US183-290Toll movements that have to soar over up to four levels of roadway, plus the beginnings of the expressway through and just slightly beyond the interchange.

The longest of these ramps is 945m (3110ft) long and 17m (58ft) above natural ground level with US183 depressed in trench below ground level.

CTRMA hope to put the first length of mainline expressway and frontage roads out to bid sometime next year.

183 Northern Extension also bargain basement bids

Nov 25 CTRMA opened bids for the 183A Northern Extension project, the second phase of their existing 183A tollroad. Project engineers HNTB had estimated the cost of the 183A-North project earlier this year  at $113.4m.

There were six bids Nov 25 - all in the narrow range of $75m to $79m.

That's 30% to 34% below the HNTB cost estimate.

This provides for new expressway toll lanes (2x3) to be built in the center of 8km (5 miles) of existing frontage road lanes. The project extends north of the existing 183A Toll and involves four overpasses of cross streets.

Granted that this doesn't cover land acquisition or design expenses incurred separately these are extraordinarily low costs - 50 lane-km (30 lane-miles) of expressway at $1.5m/lane-km and $2.5m/lane-mile. 

COMPARISON: Down the road from where we write Maryland's ICC tollroad ($2.5b for 100 lane-miles roughly) is costing ten times that 183A North per lane-mile. If land and non-construction costs are a third of the total the ICC's construction costs ($17m/lane-mile) must still be six or seven times the lane-mile costs of the central Texas work.

183A North is being funded with toll revenue bonds, but Phase 1 of 290Toll is using federal stimulus-$s.

Contracts for both projects are scheduled to be formally awarded at the Dec 17 meeting of the CTRMA board, so work can start early in the new year.

183A Toll is a major financial success story with daily traffic at 65k/day, about double the planning forecasts (33.7k). That helps with toll revenue financing of the extension.

All toll collection on CTRMA tollroads is done all-electronic at highway speeds - by either hardbodied first generation Texas or sticker tag (ISO 18000 6B) transponders (TollTag, EZ TAG, TxTag brands) or by camera imaging of license plates and toll bills in the mail.

Telvent the system integrator for 183A Toll will be doing the toll systems for the northern extension and also for the Manor Expressway 290Toll, a spokesman told us.

Hungry for work

Road contractors are hungry for work, very hungry!

They are getting good prices from sub-contractors and material suppliers and, it seems, everyone is squeezing overheads and margins, and taking bigger risks to get the job.

A Wall Street Journal piece (Dec 2) reported that highway construction companies are increasingly desperate for work despite the expenditure of billions of 'stimulus' funds.

As usual there is confusion and uncertainty about when and how the Congress will reauthorize the next five-year surface transportation bill.

Priority is being given by the Obama administration to health 'reform' so-called and supposed remedies for supposed 'global warming'.  

Construction industry unemployment in the US is now 19% compared to 11% this time last year.

TOLLROADSnews 2009-12-01

ADDITIONS 2009-12-02 13:00