Citizens came to Liberty-Eylau High School to get another look at the planned route for U.S. Highway 59, classified as a spur to the Interstate 69 system. Texas Department of Transportation officials laid out the plans, including anticipated benefits and possible disruptions that may be caused as the route is built.
"As an interstate highway, I-69 will eventually be a route running from the Texas-Mexico border all the way to Canada," said Marcus Sandifer, TxDOT public information officer. "Traffic, especially truck traffic, is already going up and will only get more so as this route is constructed. This route will need to handle the traffic density that is coming."
Hundreds of area residents asked all kinds of questions about what was expected in the different stages of the route's construction, which consisted of route study, environmental study, right-of-way (acquisition, relocation, reimbursement, final decision), construction and, finally, interstate designation.
Though disruption is expected at some point, and some displacement of homes and private property, some residents did not have a problem with the idea.
"I think the city (Texarkana) south side is economically underserved," said Mark Hawkins, a Texarkana native. "But we have needs that will continue to grow in the future. We need more water and Riverbend is making plans to see that need is met. The southern areas of the city are economically depressed and need help. The displacement of some residents will hurt, and I expect to be one of them. But the commercial traffic coming through the area will be an economic boon. We need it here."
"We want the input of citizens," Sandifer said. "That's what these meetings are for. We want to know what everyone thinks. A lot of people are involved in making these decisions, and the more people speaking up, the more information we have to make these decisions. We are gathering data, we are holding these meetings, and we have an engineering-consulting firm studying the route. All that will go into the eventual decision making."
Sandifer described the mood Thursday night at Liberty-Eylau as curious.
"They all want to know how it will affect them. At the previous Queen City meeting, no one was negative. At this meeting, more people could be affected by this, but they still seem supportive," Sandifer said.
"I think this is great for Texarkana," said Rick Fowler, Texarkana resident. "It should prove a boon for our industry, tax base, our students and our community. It is exciting to see this going on. It is way overdue."
Sandifer encouraged citizens to come to these meetings and leave their comments. For those who cannot, they are invited to visit the offices of the Texas Department of Transportation and leave their input or they can visit www.txdot.gov.