Waco hears TxDOT briefing on $234M interstate award, Twin Bridges and New Road plans

Clayton Zacker, identified in the presentation as TxDOT's area engineer, told Waco City Council members on Dec. 17 that James Construction was awarded the Interstate 4C contract in October for $234,000,000, with a tentative construction start in February 2025 and an anticipated completion in early 2029.

Zacker outlined a phased workplan that will shift mainline traffic to one side while the opposite half is built, add u-turns at intersections, rebuild signals and ramps, and widen select intersections. He said the contract includes incentives to accelerate critical phases — up to $6 million for early completion on a high-impact phase and additional bonuses (including a $1,240,000 completion bonus and a $1,000,000 lane-closure balance) — and also daily charges for overruns. "To earn that max bonus, you're looking at roughly 3 months ahead of schedule," he said.

The TxDOT team also briefed council on two other major projects. The Twin Bridges replacement over Lake Waco carries an updated cost estimate of about $70,700,000 and an approximate three-year schedule; design includes widening to accommodate future lanes and constructing new structures alongside existing bridges to reduce immediate traffic impacts. The Franklin/New Road corridor project, estimated at roughly $45,000,000, is currently targeted for an FY26 letting and is planned as a two-year construction effort to consolidate lanes, address crash-prone crossovers, and add u-turn movements at the project ends.

Council members pressed for details about traffic management and overlapping schedules; Zacker said overlap among the three projects is possible and noted a continuing public-outreach program that will include a project website, email notices, a hotline and a steering committee similar to past large projects. He also named Jake Smith as the TxDOT public-information officer for the work and invited residents to sign up for traffic notices. The presentation closed with council appreciation for TxDOT's communications during earlier projects and a request that outreach remain as transparent for these jobs as it has been in the past.

TxDOT materials and schematics discussed during the briefing are available on the agency's project website, and council members said they expect ongoing updates as final schedules and contractor phasing are firmed.