Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, was awarded a contract to provide general engineering consultant (GEC) services for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Interstate 45 (I-45) Corridor Project in the Bryan District in east central Texas. The project will provide safety improvements, increase freight mobility, enhance hurricane evacuation capability, and ease daily and seasonal congestion by adding main lanes, improving the operation of existing interchanges, and upgrading safety standards along a 90.4-mile segment of the corridor.
Under the seven-year contract, Atkins will serve as TxDOT’s GEC, providing oversight for eight production engineering firms, developing schematics, environmental documents and up to 15 plans, specifications and estimates (PS&E) packages. The team will also focus on minimizing project delays and ensuring schedule efficiency.
“The I-45 corridor is an integral part of a network that moves massive freight volumes, supporting the Texas economy and international commerce, so mobility is crucial,” said Brad Dennard, DOT Business Unit Director, Atkins. “We’ll bring leadership and expertise to help TxDOT provide a safer and more reliable route to efficiently move goods along this important piece of transportation infrastructure.”
I-45 connects the Houston‐Galveston and Dallas‐Fort Worth areas, two of the largest metropolitan areas in the nation and the two largest in the state. The corridor provides primary access for freight movement between the two markets including important seaports in Houston and Galveston and major inland ports in Dallas and Fort Worth. It has recently been the site of private-sector autonomous truck operations. The enhanced configuration should make this corridor even more attractive to cutting-edge freight movement.
