HARLINGEN — About 20 years after scrapping a bigger project, local leaders are teaming up to widen Garrett Road on the city’s fast-growing west side.
The city is joining Cameron County to fund the $1 million project to widen and reconstruct a 1.8-mile stretch from Stuart Place Road to Palm Court Drive from 24 to 33 feet.
As part of an agreement, the city will fund about $562,000, while Cameron County will pay about $463,000, Assistant City Manager Carlos Sanchez said Monday, noting the road’s centerline marks the city and county boundary.
“It’s an important project,” Mayor Chris Boswell said during a city commission meeting last week. “This goes to show we can get a lot done when we work together — and we’ve been doing that.”
Cameron County Commissioner Gus Ruiz, who oversees the county’s Precinct 4 area, said the project would make the road safer for motorists and school buses while helping to upgrade drainage.
“This is a win-win project for the city of Harlingen and the Cameron County residents,” Ruiz told commissioners.
“It’s going to help drainage and road conditions and it’s going to help pubic safety in the area,” he said. “This project will provide a good avenue for people who go to Stuart Place Elementary, Vela Middle School and Harlingen South.”
The project will include the construction of turning lanes at the intersections of Palm Court Drive, Palm Boulevard, Dilworth Road and Stuart Place Road along with the installation of solar-powered LED stop signs at several intersections.
Second project
The project comes after years of planning.
In 2000, city officials scrapped a project to turn the narrow country road into a four-lane thoroughfare after Garrett Road residents packed City Hall, arguing a four-lane roadway would encroach on their properties and endanger their families.
Now, the new project calls for a widened two-lane road.
“We’re just staying within the right-of-way as much as possible,” Sanchez said.
