TxDOT briefs Mesquite on $540 million US 80/I‑635 reconstruction, completion targeted early 2029

Nathan Petter, Dallas County area engineer for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), told Mesquite City Council members on May 20 that TxDOT has started reconstruction work on the US 80 corridor that includes a major interchange rebuild at I‑635 and US 80 and a widening of US 80 to three lanes in each direction.

"The project will improve mobility and bring the roadway to current design standards while meeting the needs of future travel demands," Petter said, describing the work as primarily an interchange reconstruction with additional widening and continuous frontage roads. He said construction began in February 2025, the contractor is Austin Bridge and Road, and the low bid for the project was "a little over $540,000,000." He estimated completion in early 2029.

The project limits run roughly east of Towne East to east of Beltline and include adding a main‑lane in each direction, continuous frontage roads on I‑635 from Towne Center to Gross Road and new u‑turn bridge structures at Town Center and Gross Road, Petter said. He showed images of drill shaft and column work at the interchange and said much of the early work has been focused on barrier placement, drill shafts and bridge columns.

Petter told council members that segment 2 (the Mesquite segment) sits between two additional US 80 reconstruction segments to the west and east. He said environmental clearance and right‑of‑way acquisition for those adjacent segments are complete, with design nearly finished and utility relocations under way; TxDOT’s current cost estimates for those segments were cited as about $174 million and $268 million, but Petter said those two are not yet funded for construction.

When Councilmember Elizabeth Rodriguez Ross asked about public outreach, Petter said TxDOT held public meetings during the environmental clearance and design phases but had no project update meetings scheduled in Mesquite at that time. He advised residents to monitor drivetexas.org for lane closures and said TxDOT issues email alerts for major traffic switches.

Rodriguez Ross also asked whether the existing Galloway bridge at US 80 is part of the work; Petter confirmed it is and described a phased demolition‑and‑replace strategy intended to keep Galloway open during construction: "We can essentially demolish half of that bridge, build the new bridge, switch traffic onto the new bridge, and then demolish the other portion of that bridge." He described the interchange bridge work around Towne Center as the critical path for the schedule.

Council members asked about coordination with ongoing I‑635 work and expected sequencing; Petter said the LBJ East (I‑635/LBJ East) work near Town East is expected to have main lanes in their final configuration by the end of calendar 2025, which TxDOT staff said they are coordinating with to manage lane closures and minimize overlap.

Petter provided a TxDOT project sheet and said the Dallas District will post quarterly updates; he also encouraged city staff to share contact information with TxDOT for direct project updates. For real‑time closures and planned lane work, he again pointed the council to drivetexas.org.