ATLANTA, Texas-The Texas Department of Transportation's Atlanta District Office will hold two open-house public meetings later this month to get residential input on a proposed TxDOT route study.
The study will examine if a stretch of U.S. Highway 59 between Texarkana and Queen City can be converted into an interstate roadway to accommodate interstate traffic.
The first meeting is slated to take place 5 to 7 p.m. on July 24 inside the Moriss Upchurch Middle School in the 500 block of Fifth Street in Queen City. The second meeting will be 5 to 7 p.m. on July 26 at Liberty-Eylau High School, 2905 Leopard Drive.
The study focuses on the potential for new routes possibly needed to veer out of both the east and west side of a portion of this upgraded version of U.S. 59-which will run between southwest Texarkana and the Sulphur River, Marcus, TexDOT's Atlanta District Office, said. If upgraded, this portion of U.S. Highway 59 will serve as a spur connecting the future Interstate 69 with Interstate 30.
"Basically what this means is that we will be keeping, but upgrading, the old U.S. 59 footprint, but we know that there are both residential homes and businesses on both the east and west side of highway once it gets north of the Sulphur River," a local official said. "These potential routes may cause some concern from both home and business owners about where these routes will run. That is what we will need public input on."
These proposed new routes will include making this area of upgraded highway a controlled-access roadway, with frontage roads serving both local residential property owners and commercial business owners.
TxDOT is inviting all interested home owners and business owners to attend either one or both of these open house public meetings so they can express their views and discuss the proposed project with TxDOT personnel.
For more information, call 903-799-1306.