US 59/77 Freeway Conversion

The corridor passed through a rural industrial area and involved upgrading the existing two-lane highway to a combination of barrier-divided freeway and divided highway sections. Existing two-way frontage roads were extended and converted to one-way operation to improve safety, traffic flow, and access control.

Bridge design included a new railroad overpass, which PGAL advanced to 30% design early in the process to secure a railroad agreement and address the district’s top concern. A new superelevated bridge structure was also constructed over Dry Creek in the divided highway section.

The flat terrain posed drainage and grading challenges, particularly in maintaining positive flow around superelevated centerline barriers. PGAL resolved these with careful vertical grade adjustments, super transition refinements, and closely spaced storm sewer inlets along the center barrier to manage flow and limit ponding in the inside shoulder.

After project funding was reduced, the planned overpass at Old Goliad Road was eliminated, requiring a challenging redesign to implement an at-grade divided highway crossing through a superelevated curve of the highway that preserved safety, operational performance, and visibility. PGAL reconfigured geometry, access, and profiles to accommodate turning movements and driver sight lines. The revised traffic control plan overcame several challenges, including staged construction of a bridge-class culvert with two multi-box bends that diagonally crossed the intersection, avoiding future bridge foundations—requiring detailed phasing to maintain traffic and drainage during construction.