"Big X"

"Big X" Elevated Roadway

The east leg of the elevated roadway near the Devaney Center opened November 6, 2009, about nine months ahead of schedule. The project was the final phase of the Big "X," a major feature of the Antelope Valley Project traffic improvements. The other three legs of the elevated intersection opened in 2006. The entire Big "X" project includes 1.5 lane miles of bridge deck and 7.5 lane miles of new pavement - 5.4 on the main legs and 2.1 on the frontage streets.

Future vehicle counts on the Big "X" are estimated to be 44,400 vehicles per day. The Big "X" also spans one of the busiest railroad corridors in the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) system. Before completion of the elevated roadway, about 48 trains blocked pedestrian and vehicle traffic for about five hours every day. The removal of the at-grade crossings has two more positive benefits: BNSF will now be able to expand the number of tracks and trains in the corridor. And the "quiet zone" - the area where locomotive horns are not routinely sounded - can be extended from 6th and "L" streets to 70th Street and Cornhusker Highway.

Related News and Photos

• Final Leg Of Big "X" Opens Ahead Of Schedule (11/06/09)
• Big "X" Phase I Ribbon Cutting Ceremony (8/16/06) | Photos
• BNSF Bridge