ORC was hired by design-build consultant NorthGate Constructors to provide turnkey right-of-way services for the Tarrant County Funnel (DFW Connector) Project in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. ORC negotiated the acquisition of 55 parcels of commercial land in the cities of Grapevine and Southlake, TX. The properties ranged in commercial utility from restaurants and retail to convenience stores and banks. Additionally, the initial phase of this long-term design-build project required the relocation of 25 businesses and five outdoor advertising structures. In this respect, the City of Grapevine planned to prohibit this type of signage through zoning measures, so the relocation of these structures was made more complicated.

As a design-build project, the proposed construction schedule was very aggressive. Though it was initially anticipated the project would take 8-10 years to complete, NorthGate Constructors and TxDOT planned a completion date of 2014 (5 years). As such, the ORC team was also bound by a compressed acquisition schedule that involved acquiring all ROW within approximately 12 months.

Overall, the DFW Connector project extended 14.4 miles through a highly developed metropolitan area. The 8-mile segment rebuilt portions of 4 highways, 2 interchanges, and 5 bridges. The project was publicly funded, including $250 million subsidization from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus), so adherence to the project schedule was crucial. This project was the largest ARRA funded project in the United States. Services that ORC provided or managed included preparation of a relocation plan, title research, Phase I Environmental Reports, surveying including metes & bounds descriptions, appraisals, appraisal review, closings and eminent domain packages.