Can a completely different highway be built missing all towns?
Long range planning will require the Texas Department of Transportation to look at an alternate highway to accommodate traffic past the year 2025. However, a majority of the existing facility was built between 1953 to 1965 making it anywhere from 35-47 years old. The existing pavements and bridges are in immediate need of being reconstructed and brought up to current design standards. Planning for an alternate highway is a monumental task. The environmental process alone for a New Location Facility would require an EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) which could take anywhere from 4-7 years. Then again, there would be the necessary purchasing of Right of Way and Utility relocation and the reality would be a optimistic start of construction in 10 or more years.
