HARLINGEN — Commissioners are holding off on calling a public hearing into a proposal to revamp a series of major thoroughfares, including a plan to downgrade a stretch of FM 509 from a highway to a roadway.
On Wednesday, Cameron County Administrator Pete Sepulveda said he plans to meet with City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez to discuss the proposal to downgrade FM 509 from U.S. 281 to FM 508 from a freeway to a minor arterial road.
The city’s previous administration had designated FM 509 from U.S. 281 to FM 508 as a freeway as part of its Vision 2020 Comprehensive Plan’s Long-Range Thoroughfare Plan.
Last week, commissioners held off on calling a public hearing into the proposal to await the Texas Department of Transportation’s study into the roadway system, Gonzalez said Wednesday, adding staff developed the proposal.
After the public hearing, commissioners were expected to consider passing the first reading of an ordinance amending the thoroughfare plan to change FM 509’s designation while proposing upgrades to Dixieland Road, Fair Park Boulevard and Altas Palmas Road.
The proposal called for downgrading the stretch of FM 509 while extending Dixieland Road from the frontage road to FM 509, turning it into a major arterial; upgrading Fair Park Boulevard from Commerce Street to West Spur 54 to designate it as a major arterial; and upgrading Altas Palmas Road from Rodeo Drive to Garrett Road to change it into a minor arterial.
At City Hall, Gonzalez said officials are waiting until the transportation department completes its study into the area’s road system before reconsidering the proposal.
“If they come back and recommend to designate it as a highway, we’ll take that into consideration,” he said, referring to proposal to downgrade FM 509 into a minor arterial roadway.
Sepulveda, who serves as executive director of the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority, expressed concern the proposal would impact FM 509, which runs from the Free Trade Bridge at Los Indios into Harlingen, where it leads to the Valley International Airport.
“That concerns us,” he said. “You can’t downgrade it if it’s a major arterial. It comes from the bridge north. It’s your major international trade corridor.”
After reviewing the proposal, Commissioner Frank Morales said questions surround the plan.
“I’m glad it was tabled,” he said, referring to the commission’s decision to hold off on the public hearing and the proposed ordinance. “Everything is up in the air. That’s why the questions are there.”
Morales said questions include the proposal’s impact on the airport, much of whose cargo travels along FM 509.
“How is this going to impact drainage, water and sewer issues?” he questioned. “We have to weigh everything out.”
Morales said he also wants to know if county officials would help fund a project along FM 509.
Proposed Dixieland, Fair Park, Altas Palmas plan
Meanwhile, Sepulveda said he supports the proposal to extend Dixieland Road from the frontage road to FM 509, turning it into a major arterial roadway.
The plan would stretch Dixieland Road through San Benito, extending toward Brownsville, creating a major thoroughfare running parallel to Interstate 69, Gonzalez said.
“It’s to relieve congestion on the Expressway,” he said.
Within the city’s core, the project to upgrade Fair Park Boulevard from Commerce Street to West Spur 54 would help streamline increasing traffic along one of the city’s major streets.
Now, officials are applying for grant money to reconstruct stretches of Commerce after landing a $5 million grant aimed at redesigning the roadway crisscrossing the city’s core.
Along the city’s booming west side, the proposal was also calling to turn Altas Palmas, now a two-lane road running across a fast-growing residential area, into a minor arterial roadway from Rodeo Drive to Garrett Road.
