The Transtec Group, Inc., as a subconsultant to IEA, has been selected to design a section of the Chisholm Trail Parkway (CTP) in North Texas.
This particular section of the highway is located between Tarrant and Johnson Counties. The North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) issued a Request for Qualifications earlier this year, aiming to replicate the success of a previous portion of the CTP that involved Transtec’s pavement design in collaboration with Granite Construction Inc., and DEC (formerly Danenbaum Engineering). Transtec was responsible for designing the pavement and subgrade for Section 6 of the CTP, which covers a distance of 13.1 miles from FM 1187 southwest of Fort Worth to U.S. 67 in Cleburne.
To meet the project requirements, Transtec utilized the MEPDG (now known as Pavement ME) program, which is not commonly used in Texas, to design the specific section of Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP). The objective was to create a long-lasting pavement with a lifespan of at least 50 years. The success of the pavement can be attributed to various factors, including designing the subgrade to limit swelling potential and selecting an asphalt bond breaker and cement treated base system that provides excellent uniformity of support under CRCP.
Given the success of the Section 6 CTP performance, NTTA sought the technical expertise of members of the original team when requesting qualifications for the road expansion. The existing road consists of a Texas Super 2 configuration (two-lane road with alternating passing lanes). The current project involves expanding the CTP to a four-lane divided highway by reconfiguring the existing section as the northbound lanes and constructing adjacent southbound lanes. Transtec will be responsible for providing engineering services for the preparation of Plans, Specifications, and Estimate (PS&E) for the ultimate southbound mainlanes of CTP from FM 1187 to North of FM 917. A second contract will cover the PS&E development from North of FM 917 to US 67.
It’s important to note that the ultimate northbound lanes of CTP were already completed and opened to traffic in 2014. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will handle the design and construction of any US 67 mainlanes and frontage roads, as well as the tie-ins to the existing and proposed CTP mainlanes.
Transtec, as the pavement design engineer under this contract, possesses the expertise to tailor the pavement design to site-specific conditions. They are familiar with pavement design methods both within and outside of Texas, having worked on various projects ranging from high-end facilities like CTP to pavements for municipalities, ports, airports, and industrial applications. Their goal is to design cost-effective pavements that will endure over time.
