TYLER, Texas — To prevent Old Jacksonville Highway in Tyler from becoming just as congested as South Broadway Avenue, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is developing plans for improvements.
"We're looking at expanding from four to six lanes,” Kathi White, a spokesperson for TxDOT said. "I think everybody who drives that route can attest to the fact that it is a bit crowded when you're traveling Old Jacksonville and Loop 323."
Not only will the project widen the street’s lanes, but the continuous turn lane will be replaced with a raised median, bike lanes will be added, and sidewalks will be built at various areas along the road.
The intersection with Rice Road will also see improvements with its traffic light and turning movements.
"Business in that area just seems to boom and there's continuous addition of businesses all along that route,” said White. "Things are still moving. The evaluation continues."
TxDOT has also proposed installing two overpasses along Old Jacksonville Highway at the intersections of Loop 323 and West Grande Boulevard.
“It provides an opportunity to separate some of the traffic and just kind of is basically those interchanges keep traffic moving in all directions,” she explained.
Both are popular roads to get to or around South Broadway Avenue, the most congested road in the city of Tyler.
The road widening portion of the project is $54 million and the overpasses are $30 million each. TxDOT has secured some of the funding already.
Construction is scheduled to start in 2024 and will take three or four years to complete. While that's a few years away, TxDOT is looking for the public's opinion on this project now.
"Hopefully, in the coming months get more input from the traveling public, we can see better how those will fit,” White said.
TxDOT has already hosted one public meeting in 2019, another was scheduled for the fall. White says the agency is tentatively sticking with it, but it all depends on COVID-19.
For more details regarding the Old Jacksonville expansion, click here.