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WEATHER ALERT

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Wing and a prayer: How physics plays out in pelican deaths, and what’s being done

But what, exactly, is the aerodynamic dilemma that causes the birds to flop down on the roadway and tangle with traffic? “Really to try to resolve some of the issues of why did the pelican cross the road? “So what happens is you hit the concrete traffic barrier and wind speed increases,” he said. “So a little concrete parapet, two steel rails and then a steel pole and that eliminated or reduced and brought down our air speed,” Young said. For the pelicans, the physics have improved, but it’s hard to tell if that is the primary reason pelican deaths have been reduced from their highest levels of years past.

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Crews resurfacing roadway nightly in heart of Edinburg through March

State transportation officials are resurfacing State Highway 107 in Edinburg. Crews began work Sunday and it is scheduled to continue through March. In a news release, the Texas Department of Transportation said mill and overlay operations are occurring on SH 107, also known as University Drive in the area, between McColl Road and 10th Avenue in Edinburg. The project is scheduled to be completed by March 9 with crews working from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.Luckily, the work is happening in the overnight hours as the project is located in a busy part of Edinburg that includes the courthouse and the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. According to the release, drivers should expect lane reductions and possible delays while crews are present.

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Maintenance on Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway to cause traffic delays

Commuters traveling eastbound and westbound on the Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway will encounter delays between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. starting Monday and through Wednesday, the Texas Department of Transportation said in a news release. According to TxDOT, a project contractor performing maintenance work will be moving traffic barricades from the eastbound lanes to the westbound lanes. The work will cause traffic to be stopped for brief periods of time. Drivers are reminded to slow down, stay alert in this work zone and always maintain a safe following distance as traffic could come to a standstill.

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Loop funding: Truck rerouting finally to become reality

32 East Loop Project is officially part of the $85 billion, 10-year statewide Transportation Program announced by the Texas Department of Transportation on Wednesday. The UTP is a planning document used to authorize highway projects for development and construction. The East Loop will connect the Port of Brownsville with Veterans Bridge at Los Tomates via the recently opened South Port Connector at S.H. The total cost of the project is about $113.4 million, according to County Administrator Peter Sepulveda Jr. For Cameron County’s part, “we fared very well and we’re continuing developing the projects, making progress, so that next year we can start closing the funding gaps on different projects,” Sepulveda said.

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As deadly crashes climb in the Valley, state transportation officials push safety

State transportation officials said Thursday that in 2021 there have been nearly 200 traffic crashes involving pedestrians that left dozens dead and even more injured in the Pharr district. The billboards will run Thursday, Sep. 8 from 3 to 7 p.m. on 10th Street, Nolana, and Trenton Road in McAllen. According to TxDOT, the Pharr district had a total of 198 traffic crashes involving pedestrians that resulted in 32 deaths and 50 serious injuries as well as 92 crashes involving bicyclists. Here are Texas laws to follow while on the road:If you’re driving:>> Stop and yield for pedestrians, bicyclists and other vulnerable road users in crosswalks. If you’re riding a bike:>> Always stop at red lights and stop signs.

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McAllen awards $81.8 million contract for Anzalduas bridge expansion

The city of McAllen awarded a $81.8 million contract to D. Wilson Construction Company in McAllen for the project that will add multiple lanes for trucks and new cargo bays for inspections. At the time, the lowest bid came from Posillico Civil Inc., a New York-based construction company, with a cost of $81.2 million. The higher bid, at a cost of $87.6 million, came from Foremost Paving Inc., a company based in Weslaco. With those bids coming in at a whopping $30 million higher than the $50 million the project was initially estimated to cost, the city decided to re-bid the project. The two bids submitted were from Posillico, which came back with a higher price tag of $83.5 million, and D. Wilson with a bid of $81.8 million.

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Houston’s biggest road projects: The West Loop/Southwest Freeway Interchange rebuild

In 2019, the West Loop between the Katy Freeway and the Southwest Freeway was named the most congested highway segment in the state of Texas, and now in the country, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. The ongoing intricate, mega-sized project to rebuild the West Loop/Southwest Freeway interchange is aimed to help alleviate some of that congestion while also improving safety along this stretch of road.