Toll 49 Segment 4

As part of our role as the General Engineering Consultant (GEC) for the North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority (NET RMA), RS&H supported NET RMA in the development of Toll 49 Segment 4, a new 6.7-mile section on the northeastern end of the 100-mile Toll 49 corridor. The project already received environmental clearance and RS&H provided services from PS&E design through opening the project to traffic. For Segment 4, RS&H was responsible for:

• PS&E design, cost estimating, and development of technical reports
• Obtaining environmental credits
• Developing the engineering report for the $121 million bond sale
• Project operations and maintenance cash flow projections
• Bid phase support and contract administration
• Construction engineering oversight, including construction inspections and materials testing
• Bond reporting throughout the construction period

The project encountered several significant hurdles during design and construction. The first major challenge RS&H faced was the re-design of the roadway typical section mid-construction. After the design for Segment 4 was finalized, NET RMA initiated a new project to improve the typical section of all Segments (1-5). This effort necessitated the redesign of the typical section of Segment 4 for consistency with the rest of the corridor. RS&H successfully completed the re-design and re-issued plan sheets under a greatly accelerated schedule, resulting in minimal change order costs and schedule extensions by the contractor. In addition, early during the project construction, a utility contactor encountered a previously unrecorded archeological site, resulting in limited contractor access to the project right-of-way for the first 16 months of construction. RS&H subcontracted an archeological firm to perform field investigations, coordinate with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Historical Commission, clear the archeological site, and provide the required record documentation. RS&H also supported NET RMA in negotiations with the contractor for change orders resulting from the limited right-of-way access.

Despite the re-design and the archeological challenges on the project, RS&H was able to deliver nearly 7 miles of new roadway to NET RMA within the $121 million budget.