Separating road traffic from active freight rail operations can improve transportation access while reducing delays for surrounding communities and businesses. In south Fort Worth, Texas, the Everman Parkway Extension is addressing that challenge through a new roadway connection being delivered by Burns & McDonnell using progressive design-build.
The project will connect residential neighbourhoods with the Everman industrial corridor, where railroad operations have historically forced motorists to take longer routes. The planned infrastructure also accommodates pedestrians and cyclists through multiuse trails and accessible crossing facilities.
The City of Fort Worth incorporated the project into its 2022 bond program, with construction intended to support congestion reduction and economic development. The city announced the project in 2024 and worked with Burns & McDonnell to gather community feedback on transportation access and pedestrian safety.
The project includes a 750-foot bridge spanning an active Union Pacific Railroad line. Because freight operations must continue during construction, overhead girder installation requires coordination around approved work windows.
Drainage and floodplain conditions have also influenced the design. At Sycamore Creek, an environmentally sensitive area connected to the Trinity River, the project team developed an eight-cell reinforced concrete box culvert as an alternative to two separate creek bridges. Each cell measures 8 feet by 8 feet, providing channels for water flow while helping limit erosion near neighbouring areas.
Earthwork across the nearly mile-long corridor presents additional coordination requirements. Burns & McDonnell has used three-dimensional design models with earthwork management systems to plan material movement and improve sequencing among subcontractors.
The team is also applying augmented reality technology through Trimble SiteVision. The system overlays digital engineering models onto physical site conditions, allowing field personnel to check alignments, locate underground utilities and verify construction features before concrete placement or installation of structural components.
These methods support field coordination and quality checks in a project environment shaped by railroad access restrictions, uneven terrain, drainage considerations and periods of extreme summer heat.
The Everman Parkway Extension is expected to be completed by mid-2027. In addition to the bridge and roadway connection, the project includes a multilane roundabout, pedestrian pathways and accessible crosswalk signals.
The progressive design-build approach brings design and construction teams together earlier in project development than the traditional design-bid-build process. For this project, the delivery model allows engineering decisions, construction sequencing and field conditions to be considered collaboratively as the work advances.
The extension also represents an initial step in Fort Worth’s wider programme to address approximately 200 remaining railroad crossings across the city.
For municipal owners and transportation agencies, the project demonstrates how integrated design and construction planning can be applied to a corridor with active rail operations, drainage constraints and pedestrian access requirements. Digital site models and augmented reality also provide tools for checking design information against field conditions during construction.
The project’s planned 2027 completion will add a road and pedestrian connection across the railroad corridor while contributing to Fort Worth’s longer-term efforts to improve transportation connectivity.
Source: Burns & McDonnell.
