The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) held a public hearing Thursday evening in Orange County at the West Orange Stark Elementary School. Citizens were invited to come see maps and diagrams for the proposed project to widen Interstate 10 between FM 3247 and the Sabine River.
TxDOT personnel were there to answer questions from citizens on the details of the proposed expansion of the interstate from four lanes to six lanes. Public Information Officer Sarah Dupre pointed out this will be the final section of Interstate 10 to be expanded.
TxDOT will continue to receive public comments on the project until March 6, 2020. The final schematics for the highway project were on display Thursday for the public to see and ask questions.
The project will go out for bids this summer with construction expected to start in the fall. Completion of the construction should take about 48 months. “Once this is done it’s going to be a great facility all the way throughout Orange County. I think the residents and the people who drive through here will really enjoy it,” Dupre said.
After an open house where citizens could view the proposed design for the project a public hearing was held. TxDOT officials summarized the plans to widen the freeway and explained the environmental review conducted by TxDOT and the Federal Highway Administration.
About 85 citizens attended the public hearing in the school’s auditorium. Citizens were then allowed to comment for up to three minutes each on any concerns they had on the planned project.
Orange City Councilman Brad Childs and three other citizens did make comments. All of them stressed the need for modifications to the service road bridges over Adams Bayou. One person commented on the need for a longer accelerating on-ramp coming out of the Texas Travel Information Center on to westbound I-10.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT
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