The price tag for a project to turn Loop 340 in the Bellmead area into a freeway in the coming years stands at $190 million, more than double the cost of a stripped-down version of the project first announced in 2018.
When the project was first announced, officials expected the price tag could be as low as $85 million for an overhaul of the 5.2-mile stretch of Loop 340 from its intersection with Highway 84 in Bellmead to just past its intersection with Highway 6. The estimated cost has since increased by $105 million because of a broader scope for the project, in addition to rising construction costs and general inflation, Waco Metropolitan Planning Organization Director Mukesh Kumar said.
The project would turn the two-lane highway into a fully fledged freeway with four lanes, frontage roads and overpasses.
The MPO has already committed $26 million to the work from its Category 2 funding, a pool of state transportation money the regional MPO controls, and it is considering another $22 million Category 2 commitment. Kumar said the Texas Department of Transportation has applied for a federal Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant for $110 million, and the MPO would seek to cover the remaining $32 million with future Category 2 funding.
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If the project receives the federal grant, the MPO and TxDOT could begin seeking bids for the project within the next couple of years, Kumar said.
The biggest reason for the increased price tag is a shift in the scope of the project, Kumar said. TxDOT Waco District Engineer Stan Swiatek said when the expansion was first announced in 2018, officials were considering a limited version that would only add frontage roads, with fewer overpasses. However, the option was always there for a larger project with more main lanes and more overpasses.
Swiatek said the smaller project was proposed first because potential funding at the time was more limited. Now, more funding is available, and the MPO and TxDOT can pursue the larger expansion project, he said.
The expansion project would add two main lanes to the highway in each direction for a total of four, plus inside and outside shoulders, two-lane frontage roads on each side of the highway and sidewalks on the frontage roads. There would also be overpasses added over Williams Road, Orchard Lane, Elk Road and Highway 6, with frontage roads also built over the Brazos River.
Bellmead City Manager Yost Zakhary said the expansion is a long-term need for Bellmead and the areas along the highway. The project would alleviate traffic congestion and encourage economic growth in the area, he said.
“Between 4:30 and 5:15, it’s heavily traveled,” Zakhary said. “The other thing that is a challenge is when you have that many crossovers. Sometimes you have crashes there, and any crash big or small, people’s lives are disrupted by the crash.”
According to TxDOT crash data, about 50 crashes were reported at the Highway 84 and Loop 340 intersection last year, with another 22 crashes along the section of Loop 340 planned for expansion.
Zakhary also said he hopes the project will alleviate water drainage concerns along the highway, as rainwater tends to get clogged in ditches along the road after storms.
Ultimately, Zakhary said he believes the expanded highway will encourage growth in the areas along the new freeway.
“The city of Bellmead definitely looks forward to working with TxDOT on this project,” Zakhary said. “Long-term, this will be a great benefit for the city of Bellmead.”
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