The Texas Department of Transportation continues work on a project that will widen a portion of Ruben M. Torres Sr. Boulevard, also known as FM 802, and will raise a concrete median in the high traffic area.
(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
For the past year, work has continued on one of Brownsville’s busiest boulevards. It is at least one of two road construction projects TxDOT is working on in Brownsville.
The project, which is about 1.36 miles long, begins at FM 802 and FM 1847 (Paredes Line Road) and ends at Old Port Isabel Road. It involves the construction of a raised concrete median and widening of the four exiting lanes to six 12-foot wide travel lanes and two 10-foot wide bike lanes. The 6-foot wide sidewalks will remain in place along both sides of the roadway. In addition, the project includes proposed right and left turn lanes at intersections throughout the project.
The project began in early 2021 and is expected to be completed in May of this year.
On Friday, portions of the roadway under expansions had all three lanes. In other areas, there were two lanes open on each side of the roadway.
Contractors are working on sidewalks and ramps to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA, said Ray Pedraza, public information officer with the Texas Department of Transportation. They are about 50% complete.
Work continues on the bridge and contractors will begin working on driveways this week, Pedraza said. They are also working on sound wall along the right of way.
TxDOT offcials said FM 802 is ranked 92nd out of the top 100 most congested roadways in Texas. By widening FM 802 and adding medians, authorities said this could help alleviate the traffic congestion.
Officials earlier said the expansion project would be matching the other part of FM 802 that was widened to six lanes several years ago. The need for the project also stems from the fact that FM 802 has had a significant increase in traffic in the past several years..
TxDOT held a public meeting on the project in September 2019 where the public was told what the project would entail and why it was needed.
Although the estimated cost of the project was $7.5 million when it was officially announced, the cost has increased by $180,000.
