SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. was awarded a contract to provide general engineering consultant (GEC) services for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Interstate 45 (I-45) Corridor Project in east central Texas. The project will provide safety improvements, increase freight mobility, enhance hurricane evacuation capability, and ease daily and seasonal congestion by adding main lanes, improving the operation of existing interchanges, and upgrading safety standards along a 90.4-mile segment of the corridor. Under the seven-year contract, SNC-Lavalin will serve as TxDOT's GEC, providing oversight for eight production engineering firms, developing schematics, environmental documents and up to 15 plans, specifications and estimates (PS&E) packages. The team will also focus on minimizing project delays and ensuring schedule efficiency. I-45 connects the Houston?Galveston and Dallas?Fort Worth areas, two of the largest metropolitan areas in the nation and the two largest in the state. The corridor provides primary access for freight movement between the two markets, including important seaports in Houston and Galveston and major inland ports in Dallas and Fort Worth. It has recently been the site of private-sector autonomous truck operations. The enhanced configuration this project will deliver should make the corridor even more attractive to cutting-edge freight movement.