With the new design, drivers turning left and through traffic will be able to go through the intersection simultaneously. To do so, traffic will temporarily shift to the left side of the road where Parmer goes over I-35. TxDOT’s I-35 at Williams Drive project is in the process of building a similar intersection design.
Weather permitting, the Parmer bridge over I-35 will close at 8 p.m. on Oct. 8 and then reopen in its diverging diamond design at noon on Oct. 9, TxDOT public information officer Brad Wheelis said in an email. Once the bridge opens, the remainder of I-35 at Parmer is on track to be complete in early 2022.
“After the Parmer Lane bridge is reconfigured into a [diverging diamond intersection], crews will construct the median island across the bridge, reconstruct the North Lamar Boulevard at Parmer Lane intersection, and finalize various improvements throughout the corridor, including bicycle and pedestrian accommodations, drainage, wastewater and high-mast illumination,” Wheelis said in an email.
The project began in July 2019 and cost $24.6 million with funding coming from Texas Clear Lanes and the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.
