Finally...5-lanes!

Well, not just yet.  However, in a couple of weeks, those of you who travel US 69 through Lumberton will get a little bit of relief.

The final phase of the state’s effort to improve a portion of the highway begins this week. Highway crews with APAC-TX will begin resurfacing the highway for the next two weeks.

This last phase of the project, which includes resurfacing and restriping the highway to five-lanes, will take place at night. Beginning tonight (June 27), workers will set up lane closures as they resurface the highway between FM 421 and Walton Road. All work will take place at night from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday. However, no work will take place during the 4th of July holiday. TxDOT has restricted to the contractor to working at night to keep from interfering with traffic.

Resurfacing the highway will take about two weeks followed by another few days of restriping. The changes will help ease congestion in one of the fastest growing areas of Southeast Texas.

This past fall, highway workers began installing guard-rail and other safety devices as a prelude to the final resurfacing phase.

Marc S.

New Signal to be installed

It is one of the heaviest traveled intersections in the Golden Triangle. Now, TxDOT is about to make a major improvement that will help get you home a bit faster.

Beginning this fall, the department will install a traffic signal at the intersection of SH 105 and the US 69 frontage road. For those of you who don't travel this section of highway, it is a four-way stop with LOTS of congestion during rush-hour traffic.

For many years, the intersection has worked quite well with stop signs. But with heavier traffic coming in on SH 105, engineers have decided a traffic signal would work much more efficiently. The new signal will really help out when Concord Road is widened from Lucas to US 69.

Allstate Signal & Construction, LLC was the low bidder. Work begins early this fall at a cost of about $183,000.

Storm Chasin'

June 1st ought to be a Southeast Texas holiday: Hurricane Season.

For the next several months, storm chasers, meteorologists, and practically every person in our part of Texas will be watching the tropics for the slightest puff of wind. In the meantime, there are a couple of things you need to know in case you have to evacuate.

1.  Know the hurricane evacuation routes.  In short, head north. Don't head westward because you may run into Houston's evacuation. And that's the LAST place you want to be.

2.  Keep your vehicle ready.  You know the drill:  keep a fuel tank of fuel, have extra water, etc.

3.  Evacuate early if you can.  Waiting for the last minute may get you some great deals on the Internet. However, it will cost you in a hurricane evacuation. Leave early if you can.

4.  Have a place to go. It's bad enough being stuck in a evacuation traffic; it's worse being stuck in traffic and not having a place to go to. Plan your route and your trip.

5.  Be patient.  More than half a million people are trying to do the same-thing-you-are-doing-at-the-same- time-you-are-doing it. There's not enough concrete in the world to build a highway system designed to allow hurricane evacuation traffic to travel at 70 mph.  Be prepared to wait.

Finally, for those of you new to Southeast Texas, listen to the "old-timers" who survived Rita and Ike, not to mention a couple of other close calls. Experience is the best teacher.

Marc S.