A major road construction project that’s been slowing down traffic in the middle of Los Fresnos since May is still at least several months away from completion.
The Texas Department of Transportation is in the process of completely replacing a mile-long stretch of S.H. 100/Ocean Boulevard, including the part that intersects Paredes Line Road in what locals know as the “old part of town,” said Los Fresnos City Manager Mike Milum.
TxDOT is projecting completion in April, he said, noting that construction was delayed in previous months due to rain.
“As of right now they haven’t extended that April deadline,” Milum said. “They’re hoping to still finish it within the time without using weather days. Only time will tell whether they can do that.”
Forecasters are predicting a drier-than-normal winter, which may help speed things along. Milum conceded that the traffic back-ups are annoying and that it’s been difficult for businesses that are harder to get to because of the construction. Still, the project was badly needed, he said.
TxDOT is completely replacing the road base, which hadn’t been done in “many, many years,” Milum said. As the highway deteriorated over the decades, it was paved over so many times that the roadway was eight inches to a foot higher in the middle than at the edges, causing vehicles to bottom out and even sustain damage in some cases when accessing or leaving the road, he said.
With the extreme incline at the edges, heavy vehicles in the outer lanes were causing the pavement to fail, he said.
“The slope is too high,” Milum said. “(TxDOT) is bringing that down. If you go look at it now you’ll see the new finished part versus the old part. It’s about eight inches to a foot higher than the new.”
With long waits at traffic lights due to lane closures on S.H. 100, motorists are bypassing the main intersection using city streets, which are suffering wear and tear as a result and will have to be fixed too, he said. As for the negative impact on businesses along the stretch, Milum said the city is considering making the alleys in the area two-way to make those businesses easier to get to.
“There’s really not room for two-way, but we’ll allow them to go both ways so that they can reach those businesses, so that way they can make it and have access,” he said.
Milum urged the public to be patient as TxDOT proceeds with the project. When it’s finished, Los Fresnos will have a level, solid and safe new road, he said.
“Our culture has gotten to where just all of us, we’re always in a hurry,” Milum said. “If we just relax a little bit I think we’ll be OK. So what if you have to sit through a light for three minutes. In big cities you do that all the time. We’re just not used to that. I’m not used to it. I don’t like it. But, hey, relax a little bit and it’ll work out.”
