More street lights along MacArthur Drive may be part of the Texas Department of Transportation’s changes to MacArthur Drive, said department spokeswoman Sarah Dupre.
Following the original story on KOGT last weekend we asked the department if lighting would be included in the project. Dupre said they are studying whether to add street lights, but another traffic light is not part of the plans, she said Tuesday.
The traffic light at MacArthur and Henrietta St. was a request by HEB when they announced they would build on the site of the old MacArthur Shopping Center that they had removed. However that was before Hurricane Harvey hit and not much has been said or done by HEB since. HEB received the okay from TxDOT on the light but it would be at HEB’s expense.
TxDOT is in the planning stages of changing lanes on MacArthur Drive, which is part of Texas Highway 87. The highway through a major business section currently has seven lanes with three each eastbound and westbound, plus a turning lane in the middle.
The department has a plan to make the highway two lanes in each direction and converting the outside lanes for pedestrians and bicycles. The turning lane will stay. The proposed changes will be from Adams Bayou to 28th Street, which runs along the west side of the old MacArthur Shopping Center space.
The project is still in the planning stage and the schedule includes seeking bids in October.
Residents in the Greater Orange Area have complained about poor lighting along the thoroughfare.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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