en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Texas Department of Transportation's Columbus Bypass highway construction project on Interstate 10 in Colorado County is currently underway. The highway construction project, undertaken by Pulice Construction, commenced in October 2024 and will widen and rebuild a six-mile section, enhancing safety and traffic flow by allowing vehicles to bypass the city of Columbus.

The highway construction project involves widening the main lanes to three 12-foot-wide lanes in each direction, equipped with 12-foot inside and outside shoulders; converting the frontage roads to two-lane one-way roads; and replacing the median with a single-slope concrete barrier. The highway construction project also includes building a new bridge over the Colorado River on a new alignment, along with the construction of 28 auxiliary bridges and overpasses. The new lanes and bridges are designed for a 50-year service life.

The highway construction project has been in the planning phase since 2018, funded by federal National Highway System connectivity funds (80%) and state funds (20%), with an expected completion date before January 1, 2029. In 2018, the average daily traffic volume on I-10 within the project limits was 43,310 vehicles, projected to increase to 70,700 vehicles per day by 2040. TxDOT Yoakum District spokesperson Lucian Kuykendall attributed the traffic growth to "the increasing number of people moving to Texas" and hurricane evacuation needs.

A TxDOT environmental report indicated that 750 crashes were reported on this section between 2016 and 2020, with a crash rate three times the Texas state average. Pulice Construction Regional Manager Vicente Gomez stated that the highway construction project is 30% complete. Construction operates on a double shift, day and night, with concrete crews paving 300 feet of roadway per day and asphalt paving crews covering approximately 500 feet per day. The new 1,480-foot-long, seven-span concrete and steel girder bridge over the Colorado River is expected to be completed by August. Typically, 200 personnel are working on-site daily, and approximately 700,000 cubic yards of earth have been excavated for embankments.

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