Ribbon-Cutting Marks Completion of I-35 Waco Project

The I-35 Waco Project is officially complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held November 9, 2022. The $341-million project finished on budget and ahead of schedule, beating its originally estimated end date by approximately eighteen months. The Waco Project is part of the larger My35 Waco District Construction Plan, begun in 2012, that comprises 17 separate construction efforts along a 96-mile corridor from Hillsboro to Salado in Central Texas.

Dignitaries from around the Lone Star State—including State Senator Brian Birdwell, Texas House Representative Doc Anderson, McLennan County Judge Scott Felton, Waco Mayor Dillon Meek, Bellmead City Manager Yost Zakhary, and Baylor University President Linda Livingstone—gathered under one of the project’s 21 newly constructed bridges to celebrate the formal opening of the roadway.

Waco District Engineer Stan Swiatek opened the ceremony, welcoming everyone and praising the teamwork—across regulatory agencies, the private and public sectors, and political and jurisdictional lines—that made the construction effort so successful. “This project is one of the most complex projects the Waco District has ever undertaken,” Swiatek said. “But we did it!”

TxDOT Waco District Engineer Stan Swiatek welcomes attendees at the Nov. 9, 2022, ribbon-cutting for the I-35 Waco Project. The event was held under the 4th and 5th Street bridge, newly constructed as part of the project.

Begun in spring 2019, the project entailed TxDOT’s partnering with the Greater Waco Stakeholders on improving 12 directional miles (6 miles both ways), from 12th Street to North Loop 340, which is traveled by up to 140,000 vehicles per day.

Highlights of the improvements brought about by the project include expanding traffic capacity from three to four lanes (in each direction), adding 13 U-turns to facilitate access along the corridor, and new signalized and marked pedestrian and bicycle facilities to improve safety. Project partners included TxDOT, the City of Waco, the City of Bellmead, and Baylor University, in addition to construction company Weber, LLC, and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), which helped TxDOT coordinate communications with local citizens and businesses during construction.

Texas Transportation Commission Chair J. Bruce Bugg reinforced Swiatek’s recognition of the interorganizational cooperation, praising the fiscal responsibility and get-it-done attitude that brought the project in so far ahead of schedule. Bugg called the I-35 Waco Project “one of the most vital” roadway improvement projects in Texas, citing both the state demographer’s estimate of 47 million Texas residents by 2050 and the fact that Texas has the ninth largest economy in the world. He also noted the crucial role Waco’s enhanced corridor will play in helping TxDOT meet its mission of “connecting you with Texas.”

Texas Transportation Commission Chair J. Bruce Bugg praised the teamwork of all involved in the success of the I-35 Waco Project. The project came in on budget and was completed a year-and-a-half ahead of schedule.

The project team implemented a number of innovations to promote mobility and safety during construction. For example, a traveler information system, which included 15 live-streaming cameras (viewable 24 hours a day via YouTube) helped keep travelers up to date on the latest corridor events, like traffic slow-downs and crashes. Other communication channels included a district newsletter, Twitter feed, real-time map, email updates, and text messages.

The project evolved as well, adding needed features identified by the local community. Baylor and Waco have grown in the last decade, for instance, and grown closer in their symbiotic relationship. As a result, students often cross I-35 between the university and downtown, and that required an adjustment in project specifics, adding a focus on bicyclist and pedestrian safety. To highlight new safety enhancements, TxDOT implemented the Be Safe Be Seen campaign targeted at pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. New pavement decals were laid down in construction zones to ensure pedestrians and cyclists were aware of new crossings, like the ones at 4th and 5th Streets and University Parks Drive.

The Be Safe Be Seen public safety campaign complemented concrete barriers put in place while new pedestrian and bike crossings were installed.

At the ceremony, Waco Mayor Meek applauded local staff from his office for promoting the project, as well as contributions by the chamber of commerce and the Waco City Council. All parties working together, he said, helped keep the lines of communication open with local residents and businesses to ensure construction caused “as little difficulty as possible.” He also noted the “economic vitality that comes from these types of [infrastructure] investments” and how the new features of the corridor will help improve the quality of life for local residents.

Meek’s nod to keeping the community informed is part of TxDOT’s new community engagement approach to local roadway improvement projects. The larger My35 philosophy seeks community involvement early on, including in the planning stages of construction, to ensure the final product meets local mobility needs.

“As Mayor Meek stated, communication was centrally important to this project’s success,” says TTI’s John Habermann, TxDOT’s mobility coordinator to local businesses and citizens. “Helping local folks participate in the process rather than simply having to suffer through the inconveniences of construction is part of the My35 philosophy of public engagement.”

This ribbon-cutting was a pause for celebration for TxDOT. The Waco District’s population continues to grow and commerce travel continues to increase. The district will maintain communication with its partners to study, plan and construct transportation infrastructure to promote safe travel to and through Waco. On the horizon, TxDOT is discussing the expansion of I-14, I-35 in south Waco, Texas 317 between Crawford and Temple, and Business 77. District staff are confident that, once these projects come to fruition, they have a set of best practices in hand to guide them.

Dignitaries at the event included, beginning fifth from left, Baylor University President Linda Livingstone, Texas House Representative Doc Anderson, Bellmead City Manager Yost Zakhary, Texas Transportation Commission Chair J. Bruce Bugg, Waco Mayor Dill

“So many things went right with this project,” Habermann says, “and even when the unexpected happened, our team was resilient in dealing with those challenges. Going forward, we have an excellent template for achieving similar success in future projects.”

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