McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. has completed construction on the Harmon Road project with the City of Fort Worth. Part of the city’s 2018 City Bond for Streets and Mobility Improvements, the project expanded a two-mile section of Harmon Road, between US287 and Golden Triangle Boulevard in north Fort Worth, from a two-lane roadway to a four-lane road with turn lanes and three integral roundabouts at major intersections with 10-foot-wide shared use sidewalks.
“The City of Fort Worth is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, certainly in our region, creating the need for additional roadways,” says Jeromy Shaw, senior vice president of operations for McCarthy. “McCarthy is pleased to once again partner with the city on a project that will improve the infrastructure and meet population demands.”
Designed to handle the expected increase in traffic flow in the rapidly growing area, the project was intended to be a public hard bid traditional selection, however after successfully completing another major infrastructure project (Hemphill Street Connector) via the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) delivery method (a McCarthy project), the city decided to use CMAR for the Harmon Road project procurement. CMAR enables the owner, contractor, and engineer to align and work in partnership from early engagement through construction delivery, providing the best outcome for the client, community, and stakeholders.
CHALLENGES
The project faced several significant challenges, including sequencing construction to minimize closing major and minor intersections, coordinating utility tie-ins to minimize shutdowns, and the winter storm of 2021, which impacted workflow and supplier deliveries.
The existing roadway alignment provided its own unique obstacle, as the roadway from US287 to Heritage Trace existed on the future southbound lanes, and the roadway from Heritage Trace north to Golden Triangle was on the future northbound lanes, causing a switchover at the Heritage Trace intersection. However, crews had green fields alongside the existing roadways, allowing them to begin construction without impacting normal traffic flows.
As the project progressed over the next year, the crowded corridor continued to acquire new developments performing their own construction work alongside the project, including fire stations, expansions of apartment complexes, retail, and more. This required careful coordination with other parties to ensure the project was able to continue without impacting the critical path and ensure no damage was done to the newly constructed roadway. While overcoming the many unique challenges of this project, the team completed it on schedule with over half a million dollars in shared savings and unspent budgets.
McCarthy has extensive experience constructing civil and infrastructure projects, including the Hemphill Street Connector in Fort Worth, Texas, the Texas A&M Wellborn Road Grade Separation project in College Station, and the construction of the award-winning State Highway 45SW in Hays and Travis counties.
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McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is the oldest privately held national construction company in the country, with nearly 160 years spent collaborating with partners to solve complex building challenges on behalf of its clients. For more, visit www.mccarthy.com.