Photo courtesy of NorthGate ConstructorsUPDATE: April 24 12:30 p.m. Due to the rain, the bridge opening has been postponed. According to NorthGate Constructors, the opening and traffic pattern switch will begin at 8 p.m on Monday.
After months of construction, NorthGate Constructors plans to open the Stars and Stripes Way bridge at FM 2499 on Friday.
However, the opening of the new bridge is accompanied with a traffic pattern switch which will take place over the weekend.
Starting 8 p.m. April 24 crews will close the two left lanes on southbound FM 2499 and one left lane on northbound FM 2499.
The one-mile stretch of FM 2499 bordering Grapevine Mills is getting a $90 million top-to-bottom makeover which will not be complete until the end of 2016.
The project aims to separate FM 2499 traffic and local Grapevine Mills traffic so that motorists who are not going to the mall can drive through the area unimpeded.
Kristen Stieg, the public information manager for contractor NorthGate Constructors, said after construction is complete, there will be two northbound and two southbound FM 2499 main lanes that will be 25-30 feet below the existing roadway that will allow commuter traffic to bypass the Stars and Stripes Way and Grapevine Mills Boulevard intersection.
Stieg also noted that the other new bridge on Grapevine Mills Parkway will also be completed within a year, but that bridge will not be ready until the end of 2015.
The FM 2499 reconstruction is part of the $1.5 billion DFW Connector Project that was started in February 2010 and was completed in March 2014. The FM 2499 portion was not completed with the rest of the project due to a lack of funds at the time.
For more information, visit www.dfwconnector.com.
