As promised, The Reporter reached out to TxDOT Public Information Officer Bobby Colwell and he told us that the entire project, including both the downtown project and the sidewalk/US 79 resurfacing project is anticipated to be finished in early 2023.
The points Colwell gave were:
• TxDOT’s contractor will continue working on the south side downtown area, from Main Street to Green Street, pouring sidewalks and installing a storm sewer at Rice Street.
• Traffic will be switched east of the downtown area from the south side of US 79 to the north side of US 79.
• The contractor will work on the south side of US 79, from Green Street to US 77, installing curbs and gutters, sidewalks and intersections.
• Sidewalk tie-ins will be completed at all downtown intersections, and the contractor will begin milling and paving the east and west ends of the project.
• Final steps will include milling and paving in the downtown area and adding a stained concrete star at the intersection of US 79 and Main Street. Work is anticipated to be complete in early 2023.
So, for roughly the next eight months (or so) drivers and pedestrians along US 79 will experience some inconveniences, but there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel.
The street resurfacing will require one of the three lanes from about O’Reilly Auto Parts to US 77 to be closed while work is being done. That means that in those places left turns will not be possible until the work in that area is finished and moves on to the next stretch.
While this project has been fraught with setbacks and taken much longer than planned, for a variety of reasons, the end is less than a year away if all goes as planned. Our readers should be happy about this news.
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