The Midland-Odessa area of Texas is growing, thanks to the oil industry, and where there’s growth there’s traffic. Sundt and joint venture partner Price Construction have been hired by the Texas Department of Transportation to provide a solution to the growing traffic volume. Beginning in May, the team will construct a new 8.5-mile relief route for US 87. The project is the first phase of a planned 16-18 mile roadway.
The $45 million transportation construction project in Big Spring (about 35 miles north of Midland) includes four precast concrete bridges. All of the project’s concrete construction – totaling 18,000 cubic yards – will be performed by Sundt’s own crews using an on-site batch plant.
“We’re batching our own concrete because it’s very hard to get concrete out there,” says Sundt Area Manager Fred Stone. “The few concrete companies in the area can’t guarantee supply because they work entirely for the oil companies. Price will supply the aggregate material and we’re bringing in the rest from Lubbock. By having our own plant, we control our destiny and guarantee a quality outcome for our client.”
The design-bid-build project is scheduled to be complete in March 2016.