East Texas

By LAUREN GROVER
Staff Writer

After a string of public meetings that entertained seven routes, transportation officials will present route G as the final Lindale Relief Route location at a hearing Tuesday, marking the start of design and financing for the Loop 49 segment they predict will carry the heaviest traffic.

“Public involvement has determined where the route is going to go, and it’s coming to a natural conclusion with this meeting,” said Larry Krantz, Texas Department of Transportation spokesman.

The Lindale Relief Route, or Segment 4 of Loop 49 planning, will connect I-20 between Hideaway and Lindale to US 69 north of Lindale. Construction could begin in 2012 at the earliest, Krantz said.

In January, Segment 2, from US 69 to Paluxy Road, was opened to the public. Together with Segment 1, from State Hwy 155 to US 69, the open toll road totals seven miles. Segments 3 and 4, which curl the loop northwest from State Hwy 155 to I-20 and across it, are next in priority for construction, said Jeff Austin III, chairman of the North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority.

“We’re prioritizing them to have a logical flow and logical completion to I-20 to the north,” he said Friday.

Budget cuts have frozen federal and TxDOT money for the project, Krantz said, and financing won’t be on the table again until the legislative session in 2009. Meanwhile, design, right-away purchases and various approvals will keep the Loop 49 project in motion.

“The legislature is going to take a hard look at TxDOT as a whole and a hard look at how highways are funded,” Krantz said. “Still, we’ve got a long way to go with the design phase.”

Delayed funding could be quelled by alternative money sources, such as bonding and possible partnerships, Austin said. Plus, Tyler residents have warmed up to the seven miles of open Loop 49, generating more revenue than predicted, he said.

“The traffic on Segment 2 to Paluxy has exceeded our expectations, and we’re really fortunate it’s been accepted and people are using it,” he said. “We’ll take that revenue and help complete the other segments.”

From its start some 10 years ago, discussion about the Lindale Relief Route generated hands-on interest from residents in Lindale and Hideaway, Krantz said, just as it should.

“We want to make sure the public feels like they got a fair say,” he said. “We’ve had strong turnout at all the meetings.”

Lindale Mayor Pro Tem Jim Mallory said it’s a natural reaction since landowners, some miles from the projected sight, are anticipating a personal impact. The announcement Tuesday has been a long time coming, he said.

“We’re all waiting to hear the final final designation for the route,” he said Friday. “How you get on, how you get off, and most importantly, if you’re going to build it when you’re going to start.”

TxDOT has worked diligently despite budget cuts and guidelines thrown in mid-project that mangled development, Mallory said. Engineers have walked the land between Lindale and Hideaway Lake to determine this route option, he said.

“They’ve had conflicting guidelines to go by,” he said. “And limited funding, which means it drags on, and people either lose interest or feel like they have no control on the matter.”

Though last among the westward segments to be built, the Lindale Relief Route is projected to carry some heavy traffic and be worth the wait, Krantz said, especially since Lindale has grown.

“The Lindale Relief Route is the most viable segment of Loop 49 as it stands,” he said. “It will probably get the most traffic out of any of them.”

Mallory agreed.

“You’ve got people in south Tyler who are strangled trying to get to I-20, and then people here, who want to go to south Tyler,” he said. “Either way, that’s where the cost-benefit runs. Getting that route cleared would really enhance the objectives of Tyler 21 moving into the northwest quadrant.”

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