ST9304-CS 860116T E R R
January 16, 1986
The Honorable Nancy Judy
Dallas County Commissioner
411 Elm Street
Dallas, Texas 75202
Re: Proposed relocation of Belt Line Road
Dear Commissioner Judy:
Thank you very much for your telephone call Tuesday advising me
our concerns about the proposed relocation of Belt Line Road had
been addressed by the Commissioners' Court Monday. My initial
reaction to your report that the County is retaining a new engi-
neering firm to review the work of both Albert Halff & Associates
and Nathan D. Maier Consulting Engineers.was one of relief that
the County is finally listening to some serious criticisms.
When, however, you advised me Jim Jackson is raising the issue of
safety at the MacArthur/Belt Line intersection, I was again
concerned. Let me try to explain to you my concern and our
feeling that the motivation of both Commissioner Jackson and the
County in this matter is suspect.
When we agreed with the City of Coppell last Spring to pay for
one-half of the cost of construction of the MacArthur/Belt Line
intersection, we began immediately planning that intersection in
the hope it would be built prior to the improvements to Belt Line
Road and facilitate traffic flow during construction. The plans
for the intersection prepared by Nathan D. Maier Consulting
Engineers, Inc. placed the intersection where it would be located
along the present site of Belt Line Road. Those plans were
approved by Wayne Ginn, the Coppell City Engineer, and the County
engineering staff before the April bond election. Please see the
March 11 letter from T.R. Kennedy and the March 1 letter from Mr.
Ginn, copies of which are enclosed. The offices of DeShazo
Starek & Tang and PAWA-Winkelman, well-known Dallas traffic
engineers, as well as the office of Barton-Aschman, the largest
traffic engineering firm in the country, are all' familiar with
the proposed intersection in the location shown in the plans
submitted to the County. All those firms and engineers have
indicated that with the traffic and railroad crossing
signalization which we have agreed to pay for, the intersection
will be a safe intersection. In fact, our original design was
revised to adapt to the requests of Albert Halff & Associates who
indicated their satisfaction with the revised plans over six
months ago.
TERRA COMPANIES
TWO LINCOLN CENTRE
SUI'i'E 1370
5420 tBJ FREEWAY
DAi ! AS TEXAS 75240
214 ~34 9444
The Honorable Nancy Judy
January 16, 1986
Page Two
The City of Coppell received this week notification from the St.
Louis & Southwestern Railroad that the MacArthur railroad
crossing with the Belt Line/MacArthur intersection in its present
location has been approved in the corporate offices of the rail-
road in San Francisco and easement agreements and all other docu-
mentation will be in the hands of Coppell within 30 days. The
railroad also offered an apology for improperly sending its area
engineer, David Andrews, to the Coppell City Council meeting that
dealt with the proposed relocation of Belt Line Road.
When you consider all of the foregoing, you can see how we are
wary of the spectres of campaign supporters of Jim Jackson and
owners along the proposed southern route who are working hard to
obtain approval for the needless and costly relocation. We also
are concerned that the new engineers may not truly be hired as
"independent" engineers but may be invited by the County to
simply sign off upon the relocation proposal.
Please do not mistake this letter for ingratitude on our part for
your attempt to help in this difficult situation. It is our
opinion that the proposed relocation of Belt Line Road would be a
breach of trust by the County to us and to the voters who
approved the county bonds last April. If the proposed relocation
had any merit at all, which it does not, we would be much less
suspicious of ~he motivations of the County. Thank you.
Sincerely,
~~y~ter son, President
JP/sm
cc:
County Judge Dave Fox & County Commissioners, Jim Jackson,
Chris Se_mos and John Wiley Price
Mayor & City Council Members, City of Coppell
Mr. Frank Proctor, Coppell City Manager
GINN, INC.
CONSULTING ENGINEERS
March 1, 1985
Nathan D. Maier Consulting Engineers, Inc.
Three North Park, Suite 300
88'00 North Central Expressway
Dallas, Texas 75231
Attn: Ms. Janet Vick
RECEIVED
IAR 5 1985
NATHAN D. MAIER
CONSULTING ENGINEERS
Re:
MacArthur Boulevard Improvements
Belt Line Road to Woodridge Section 4
Dear Ms. Vick:
The revised drawings for the above referenced project have
been received and reviewed by this office. The construction
plans for this project have been approved except for the size
of the water main shown on drawing 19.
This office envisiOns this main to be the primary water
transmission main for the City of Coppell and we are
currently determining its size. We will notify you as soon
as this determination is made.
Please feel free to contact me or Mr. John Wankum concerning
the above.
Sincerely,
I:I. Wayne .Ginn, P.E.
City Engineer
JW/HWG/sr
cc: Ron Ragiand
16135 Preston Road · Suite 106 · Dallas, Texas 75248 · Phone 214/386-6611
DALLAS COUNTY
PUBLIC WORKS
March 11, 1985
RECEIVED
MAR 1 3 198. '
Ms. Janet Vick
Nathan. D. Maier
Consulting Engineers, Inc.
Three NorthPark
8800 N. Central Expressway
Suite 300
Dallas, Texas 75231
NATHAN D, MAI,ER
CONSULTING ENGINEERS
Re: Intersection of MacArthur and Belt Line Road in Coppell
Dear Ms. Vick:
Reference is made to your February 27, 1985 letter of transmittal
and the attached construction plans for proposed MacArthur Boule-
vard and Belt Line Road intersection.
We have reviewed your plans and inspected the location in the
field. Following are our comments and recommendations:
Sheet 5
1. In order to reduce the cross slope on Belt Line within
the intersection, it is recommended that the PVI at Sta. 35+75 be
moved to the centerline of Belt Line at Sta. 36+85(~). The PVI
should be moved forward at least to half-way between the railroad
and Belt Line centerlines.
2. It is suggested that the gradeline on MacArthur south of
Belt Line be as gentle as possible to facilitate the functioning
and safety of the intersection.
3. The -0.50 percent grade to the south of Belt Line appears
to be lower than necessary commensurate with the existing ground
elevations shown.
Sheet 6
1. The crest vertical curve on Belt Line at PVI Sta. 8+00
is short. It is recommended that the curve length provide for a
desirable design speed of 50 mph.
2. The maximum cross slope shown on the Future Typical Sec-~
tion should be 1/4"/foot and the one foot fall across the median
is too great. The median width should be fourteen feet back of
curb to back of curb or fifteen feet out to out.
161 Commerce Dallas, Texas 75209 749-8151
' .~ 11, 1985
.~' Janet Vick
~e 2
3. It is recommended that the full pavement width (81 feet)
be carried 100 feet each direction on Belt Line Road from the end
of the curb returns.~
4. The asphalt connections need a shoulder or some treatment
to provide for lateral support and edge safety on this high fill
section. A guard fence may be needed. The side slopes will be
too steep unless slope easements are used. Too, the fill slopes
may cover or restrict the ditches where the side road culverts are
shown.
Sheet 8
It appears that some of the recently placed concrete pavement
will need to be removed to provide for the proposed intersection.
Thank you for the opportunity to review these plans.
any questions, please advise.
Sincerely, ~ /
T. R. Kennedy ~_~ -~
Assistant Director
TRK:Sgr.~C
cc: M . B. Rogers
Director
Streets Department
City of Coppell
If you have