FM 407 bridge at I-35E to close Friday

The 35Express Project will reach a major milestone this month. Crews working on the $1.4 billion project will permanently close the FM 407 bridge over I-35E and begin preparations to demolish the structure this Friday, May 29.

As part of the 35Express project, the FM 407 bridge will be demolished and replaced with an at-grade roadway that will increase capacity and improve mobility on the east-west connection, according to officials. Once the bridge demolition begins, traffic will be detoured using Valley Ridge and Garden Ridge Boulevards.

The new FM 407 roadway is expected to fully reopen to traffic summer 2016, but crews expect to have one lane of traffic open in each direction by the end of the year.

The bridge will close at 8 p.m., Friday, May 29, and traffic will not be allowed across the structure.

Once traffic across the bridge is severed, crews will begin the task of demolishing the western half of the bridge that is over the southbound I-35E lanes.

Once the western half of the bridge is demolished and crews construct the new final portion of the southbound mainlane and managed lane bridges, all traffic will be placed onto the new pavement.

The eastern half of the bridge over the northbound lanes of I-35E will be demolished and work will then focus on constructing the northbound mainlane bridges.

Work on the new FM 407 began December 2014. Crews constructed a new southbound I-35E frontage road that facilitated construction of the new southbound I-35E mainlane bridge that will eventually travel over FM 407.

When complete, the newly constructed FM 407 will have two lanes in each direction, a dedicated turn lane in each direction and Texas U-turn lanes on each end. The retaining walls supporting the mainlane bridges over FM 407 will include aesthetics that reflect the lake theme of this portion of the project.

The traveling public can view a video detailing the phases of construction of the structure by visiting the 35Express YouTube Channel.

The demolition and reconstruction of FM 407 is related to the 35Express project, an expansion of I-35E between U.S. Highway 380 in Denton County and I-635 in Dallas County. The overall project is expected to be substantially complete by mid-2017.

All closures are subject to weather conditions and may be postponed, if necessary.  For more information about the 35Express project or to sign up for traffic alerts, visit www.35Express.org.