Hemphill-Lamar Connector to improve traffic flow, pedestrian safety

April 9, 2015 - PRLog -- Work is underway on a project that will promote community cohesion and increase safety for residents traveling between downtown and the near Southside. The city of Fort Worth and McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. along with Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, District 9 Councilmember Ann Zadeh, President of Fort Worth South, Inc. Paul Paine and Executive Committee Member of Downtown Fort Worth Johnny Campbell held a groundbreaking ceremony today to mark the commencement of the project.

The long-awaited Hemphill-Lamar Connector is a new underpass that was proposed as part of the I-30 relocation in 2002. The underpass will improve connectivity between the near Southside and downtown and will provide a more viable pedestrian and bicycle connection than the historic underpasses at Jennings, South Main and Henderson streets.

“I am very pleased that the Hemphill-Lamar Connector is getting started and know that there are many who have worked hard for a long time to make this a reality,” said District 9 Councilmember Ann Zadeh. “I am pleased that residents of both the near Southside and downtown, both located in District 9, will benefit from this connectivity allowing them easier access between the two areas.”

The Hemphill Street Connector project includes building a roadway and pedestrian pathway tunnel underneath I-30 and a new rail bridge to support four existing Union Pacific Railroad lines.

“As a community builder, we are excited to add The Hemphill Street Connector to McCarthy's growing list of projects within the city as we continue to expand our work in the Fort Worth area,” said McCarthy Texas Region President Mike McWay. “Our team has extensive and diverse experience constructing civil and infrastructure projects and we look forward to building this project for the city of Fort Worth.”

The project will extend from Hemphill Street beyond Vickery Boulevard, via tunnel. Plans call for a four-lane major arterial street comprised of 12-foot lanes, retaining walls, streetlights and traffic signals. Pedestrians will enjoy the installation of wide sidewalks and bike lanes and drainage improvements. Irrigation and landscaping will be incorporated.

Construction is expected be completed in 2017.

The firm brings past expertise with many transportation projects, (http://www.mccarthy.com/news/2011/01/04/txdot-awards-mcca...) including a similar project to the Hemphill Street Connector — the Texas A&M Wellborn Road Grade Separation project.

About McCarthy

McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. (http://www.mccarthy.com/) has been a community builder across America for more than 150 years (http://www.mccarthy150.com/)and in Texas for 36 years, creating and developing positive working relationships with clients in a diverse range of markets. Throughout all phases of a project, from early integrated design phase services, through construction and after completion, McCarthy builders utilize industry-leading construction techniques and the most sophisticated technology to deliver the highest quality, job-site safety and ultimately, the best value. Repeatedly honored as a Best Place to Work and Healthiest Employer, McCarthy is ranked the ninth largest domestic general contractor (Engineering News-Record, May 2014) and is the leading healthcare and federal builder in Texas. McCarthy performs general contracting, construction management and design/build services for the following project types: healthcare, education, industrial, marine, transportation, water infrastructure, entertainment/hospitality, federal, parking, science and technology, and office. The firm has approximately 1,600 salaried employees with offices in Dallas, Houston, St. Louis, Atlanta, Collinsville, Ill.; Kansas City, Kan.; Phoenix; Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Denver, and San Diego, Newport Beach, San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento, Calif. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned (http://www.mccarthy.com/about/employee-owners/). More information about the company is available online at the website or by following the company on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/mccarthybuilding), Twitter (https://twitter.com/McCarthyBuild), LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/company/119184?trk=tyah) and Google+ (http://www.google.com/+MccarthyBuilding).