SH 30 bridge replacements in Brazos and Grimes counties and SH 5 widening in Collin County lead TxDOT's mid-size November work

After two large Interstate 35 contracts, the next biggest items on the Texas Department of Transportation's November statewide letting are a bridge replacement near College Station and a road widening in fast-growing Collin County. Both are scheduled for bids Nov. 4, according to TxDOT's open project data.

Brazos and Grimes counties: SH 30 bridges and approaches

Contract 11263203 groups three "replace bridge and approaches" records on SH 30 that run end to end east of William D. Fitch Parkway. TxDOT's data names the job "SH 30 Navasota River Relief #2."

• 0.30 mile west to 0.66 mile east of William D. Fitch Parkway, Brazos County: about $10.45 million;
• 0.66 to 1.61 miles east, Brazos County: about $11.16 million;
• 1.61 to 2.59 miles east, Grimes County: about $10.12 million.

The Bryan District contract totals $31.7 million in sealed engineer's estimates and allows up to 540 working days. The records carry federal bridge program numbers BR 2027(084) and BR 2027(095), with categorical-exclusion environmental clearances. Relief bridges in a river floodplain typically involve phased construction, piling or drilled shafts, structural concrete and beams, and approach paving, all common sub packages.

Collin County: SH 5 widening

Contract 11263202 would reconstruct and widen SH 5 from two to four lanes, from north of the Collin County Outer Loop to north of Hackberry Drive. TxDOT's description also lists new sidewalks, a shared-use path, new turn lanes and signals. The Dallas District project is estimated at $39.9 million, with up to 791 working days.

Smaller jobs worth a look

The same letting includes:

• Milam County, FM 485 (11263209), $10.5 million: a passing lane from CR 264 to 1.21 miles west of the Robertson County line (about $5.79 million), plus fixed-object safety treatments and passing lanes around FM 979 (about $4.76 million). Up to 475 working days.
• Hidalgo County overlays (11263003), $12.9 million: FM 2220 in McAllen from 250 feet north of FM 1924 to the I-2 frontage road (about $4.55 million), and US 281 in Donna from 100 feet west of FM 2557 to 0.7 mile east of FM 493 (about $8.33 million). Up to 231 working days.
• El Paso, Loop 375 (11263020), $14.6 million: mill-and-inlay with base repairs from I-10 (Desert North) to Tom Mays Park (about $12.26 million), and a 2027 bridge maintenance and improvement program on seven Loop 375 structures between I-10 and FM 2529 (McCombs Street) (about $2.34 million). Up to 198 working days.

Contracts in this range are often within reach of regional primes with mid-sized bonding programs.

Bidding

Primes need TxDOT prequalification at a capacity that covers the job. Subcontractors don't need prequalification. TxDOT holds the letting over two days and streams it live. Our bids page lists every November contract by county. Estimates are TxDOT's, not bids, and contracts can be postponed before the letting.

Why mid-size jobs matter

Contracts from $10 million to $50 million made up 11 of the 61 November contracts. They are large enough to need real bonding and a field organization, but small enough that a single regional prime can carry them without a joint venture. They are also where many second-tier primes build the track record that TxDOT's prequalification capacity is based on. For subcontractors, these jobs tend to have fewer, larger packages than seal-coat bundles, and primes often start requesting quotes as soon as plans are posted.

How to read the estimates

Each figure here is TxDOT's sealed engineer's estimate as published in its open data, broken out by project record where a contract has more than one. The records under a contract are bid together as one proposal, so a sub quoting the Hidalgo overlays, for example, is quoting both the McAllen and Donna segments to the same primes. Estimates are not bids. TxDOT can postpone or withdraw a contract before the letting.