TxDOT says the worst is over at Loy Lake Bridge

Theyre affectionately called the ski ramps two oddly designed points of ingress and egress on the north side of the Sherman Commons shopping center. And for retailers on both sides of Loy Lake Road bridge, the ski ramps are the final piece of the puzzle in restoring full functionality for drivers as ongoing construction at the location grinds on into its ninth month.

Right now, anybody north and south can get to (the Town Center) side, and you can go from the east side to the west side, but you cant go from the west side to the east side, JCPenny Store Manager Barger Tygart said. But Im pretty sure that before the Black Friday weekend, that it will be open to where cars can go back and forth.

Tygart was one of a hand full of Sherman business owners and managers who attended an informal, informational meeting hosted by the Texas Department of Transportation near the construction zone Friday morning. TxDOT was the bearer of good news for Tygart and others during the gathering, as the organization announced it hopes to reopen the ski ramps and reestablish the flow of traffic as early as next week.

We added an extra phase to (utilize) these old ramps to give temporary access during the holiday season to these developments over here, said TxDOT Area Engineer Aaron Bloom, speaking from a business in Sherman Commons. So were going to work the frontage road up to where the concrete ends, just right past the intersection, and then well keep working on Loy Lake, trying to get that built.

The ski ramps are being reopened thanks to a $52,000 change order financed by United Commercial Realty, the Dallas-based company that owns and leases Sherman Commons. The downside of the modification in construction plans, however, will be a slight lengthening of the overall timetable for the project, said Bloom.

In the original plans, we were going to work all the frontage road together, but now were breaking it up into two pieces, so that adds some more time to the project.

Even still, the $5.6 million construction effort is running only slightly behind schedule up to this point, said Ragle Construction Project Manager Jason Stultz. Ragle crews are currently working to raise the intersection several feet on the east side of the bridge, which will provide a new, modernized entrance into Sherman Commons and eventually do away with the ski ramps for good.

The weathers put a couple of dampers on it, but its gone pretty smooth so far, said Stultz.

TxDOT officials said theyre targeting a final completion date of early spring for the project, which will double the bridges capacity to six lanes. The new portion of the bridge, on which crews worked Friday installing a concrete guard rail, will hopefully open to traffic sometime in March or April, said Bloom.

Work on the northbound frontage road will continue into January, according to a handout provided by TxDOT, after which a new traffic signal will be installed on the east side of the bridge. From there, Phase 4 of the project will begin, the focus of which will be on the west side of the bridge. A portion of Loy Lake Road will be closed during this phase, though only the small portion of the street in front of Chipotle Mexican Grill. Life for drives will remain relatively unchanged, however, as the turn-around will temporarily function as a two-way roadway, providing all-direction access for drivers.

More:
TxDOT says the worst is over at Loy Lake Bridge