HENDERSON COUNTY – The Texas Department of Transportation has completed or will complete nearly $13 million in construction work in Henderson County by this summer, and there is much more in the offing as the calendar flips to 2014.
The marquee project is the $6.4 million passing-lane project on SH 19 south of Athens. Contractor APAC-Texas, Inc., of Dallas broke ground on the project in November and is scheduled to have the project completed by fall of 2014.
“As fast as we’re growing across East Texas, we’re outgrowing our highway infrastructure,” said TxDOT spokesman Larry Krantz. “SH 19, a two-lane highway with limited passing opportunities, is a good example of that. Fifty years ago, even 25 years ago, that was adequate. Moving forward, it won’t be.”
The project calls for adding passing lanes in various locations between the Coon Creek Bridge and just north of the Anderson County Line.
A second project, which picks up at the southern end of the current project will finish installing passing lanes on the Henderson County portion of SH 19 and proceed south in to Anderson County. That project, estimated at $11 million, is scheduled to let to contract in July and begin in the fall.
Construction crews in 2013 also added shoulders to US 175 in the LaRue area, on FM 773 near Murchison, and on SH 274 between FM 3225 in Tool and SH 31 in Trinidad.
“These projects are relatively small in scope, but are big on benefit,” said TxDOT spokesman Larry Krantz. “Adding just a few feet of pavement between the main lane and the ditch line can mean the difference between a fatal crash and a near-miss. We have a lot of similarly narrow roadways across the Tyler District, and we’re addressing them with similar projects.”
Krantz added the widening project set for Henderson County in 2014 will add shoulders to FM 317 between FM 607 and FM 315 south of Chandler. The The estimated $4.2 million project is scheduled to let in February 2014.
TxDOT contract crews in 2013 also repaired and resurfaced the Athens Square and SH 31 between Brownsboro and Murchison.
Later this summer, TxDOT’s District Wide Seal Coat program is scheduled to seal the following Henderson County roadways:
- US 175 – Between FM 804 east of Athens and FM 315 in Poynor
- US 175 – Between Loop 7 in Athens and UPRR overpass west of FM 1616
- FM 59 – Between SH 19 in Athens and FM 753
- Loop 7 – Between FM 59 overpass and SH 31 West in Athens