MIDLAND Motorists on Interstate 20 in Midland County will see another traffic change starting the week of Sept. 26 as work begins to replace the Cotton Flat Road bridge, a Texas Department of Transporation press release detailed.
A project to tear down the existing bridge and replace it with an I-20 bridge that goes over Cotton Flat Road is scheduled to begin the week of Sept. 26.
A $25 million federal BUILD grant is paying for part of the $68.5 million project. The BUILD grant came with scheduling mandates which is why TxDOT will have three consecutive overpass projects going simultaneously along the I-20 corridor in Midland County.
FNF Construction of Temple, Ariz., won the Cotton Flat bridge project with a bid of approximately $68.5 million. Project completion is expected in the spring of 2025.
The first phase of work will consist of service road improvements on either side of Cotton Flat. The work will stretch to SH 349 to the east and dovetail with the Midkiff project to the west. The service roads will be down to one lane in each direction. The north service road will be one way westbound; the south service road will be one way eastbound.
In the first phase, a concrete barrier will separate traffic on the service road from workers widening the road to the inside. The Cotton Flat bridge will remain open in this first phase.
Once the frontage roads are widened to three lanes in each direction, the main lane traffic will be moved to the service road for construction of the new overpass that will carry I-20 main lanes over an improved Cotton Flat Road similar to the Midkiff Road bridge project to the west.
The existing Cotton Flat Road bridge configuration and jug handle connections require a different construction approach than the Midkiff project and the County Road 1250 project. The existing Cotton Flat bridge will be removed early in the project timeline. The existing bridge support structure needs to be removed to accommodate three lanes on the service roads.
Motorists are reminded that state law requires them to obey warning signs and traffic control devices. TxDOT is committed to providing a safe work environment for contractors as well as for the traveling public. It is crucial that the traveling public participate in this safety culture so everyone can go home safely at the end of the day.
