IH 10/IH 610 INTERCHANGE DESIGN, HOUSTON, TEXAS 

The addition of multiple lanes to IH 10 Katy Freeway through Houston’s west side required redesign of this four-level interchange. The interchange, connecting two of the city’s most heavily traveled freeways, serves a half million vehicles a day.  In order to accommodate the added width of the new lanes and to reconfigure the connectors to both freeways, this complex project featured design and construction of eight direct connectors, depressed mainlanes along IH 10 and elevated IH 610 mainlanes, a depressed ramp, a tunnel, HOV ramps, and two stormwater pump stations. OTHON’S responsibilities included design layouts for two of the direct connectors and providing the final traffic control plan for the interchange.

Located just north of the Galleria a major business and retail district, the interchange is located near a large urban park, as well as a number of upscale neighborhoods. This not only restricted the land available for the redesign and expansion, but also limited the options for re-routing traffic during construction.  Another challenging aspect of the project was the requirement to close down the busy freeways to allow for massive steel beams to be moved overhead by cranes. Traffic control also required coordination with several adjacent construction projects.

In addition to developing the final traffic control plan, OTHON’S role included developing a complex time-determination schedule; incentive/disincentive strategies for contractors; and general notes, special provisions, and special specifications. A thorough constructability review of major design elements was conducted and all construction phasing was coordinated with Texas Transportation Institute.

Completion Date: 2007
Construction Cost: $262,000,000
Owner: Texas Department of Transportation, Houston District