Harris County Toll Road Authority Aldine Mail Route Overpass

PGAL designed an elevated intersection for Aldine Mail Route over the Hardy Road Trail (HTR) and the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), and converted three-quarters of a mile of the two-lane, two-way roadway into a four-lane boulevard.

The scope of work included design of a bridge, roadway, retaining wall, storm sewer, detention ponds, signing, striping, signalization, utility relocations, ROW acquisitions, railroad coordination, and extensive TCP. PGAL also designed new bypass frontage roads along the Hardy Toll Road.

PGAL prepared the alternatives analysis report, which provided bridge alternatives and recommendations for the complex elevated intersection including bent locations, beam locations, and types and slab spans for turning radii. PGAL determined that the existing two-lane Aldine Mail Route overpass could be widened on either side rather than building a separate twin structure as previously suggested. The design team recommended realigning the proposed roadways to allow for widening and upgrades to the existing, substandard bridge rails. A cost comparison showed that this approach would yield significant savings.

The twin elevated intersections over toll road lanes and dual railroad tracks involved tight radii to accommodate turning movements. PGAL designed the bridge layouts and used PSTRS14, CAP18, and STAAD to design the bridge substructure and superstructure.

PGAL also designed slab spans and combination slab and pre-stressed beam spans. This eliminated the need for steel framing and allowed for the reuse of a portion of the existing substructure in order to minimize construction costs. PGAL’s design also allowed the re-use of two approach spans that otherwise would have required reconstruction.

Features Include:

1. Elevated intersection for Aldine Mail Route
2. Conversion of three-quarters of a mile of two-lane, two-way roadway into a four-lane boulevard
3. Retaining wall, storm sewer, detention ponds, signing, striping, signalization, utility relocations, ROW acquisitions, railroad coordination, and extensive TCP