Thirty streets repaved in one year? Not anymore in Alice<\/a><\/p>\nHighway 361 is currently in the environmental study and schematic design phase. TXDOT expects construction to begin around 2030. The redesign would turn the 15-mile corridor into a safer, more modern roadway with two travel lanes, a raised median, dedicated left-turn lanes where needed, sidewalks, and for the first time lighting. The highway has been the scene of multiple crashes and fatal accidents over the years, with many blaming the pitch-black conditions at night.<\/p>\n
State Representative Todd Hunter said he\u2019s been pushing TXDOT to move as quickly as allowed under state and federal rules.<\/p>\n
Hunter said, \u201cBecause we\u2019re coming into the holiday season I made it a point to talk with the Texas Department of Transportation today in regards to 361. Yes, it\u2019s a highway that needs to be improved, it\u2019s very dark. It needs to be lighted so people can see, but it also continually needs to be improved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hunter added that progress is happening behind the scenes even if drivers can\u2019t see it day to day.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now I checked with TXDOT and they are looking at expanding it and they are looking at improving it. You may not necessarily see day-to-day work, but they have assured me they are looking at it and they\u2019re going to have the plan. It may go slow at times, but we are there. The goal will get there. It will be achieved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hunter said that both Highway 361 and the second causeway are moving through required environmental and regulatory steps, which take two to three years on the coast. Some early project funding has already been covered, and more will be pursued in the next budget session in 2027.<\/p>\n
Nueces County Commissioner Brent Chesney said the project should be fast-tracked before more drivers are hurt.<\/p>\n
Chesney said, \u201cWe\u2019ve got to do everything we can to scream and yell from the rooftops that 361 has to be improved and it can\u2019t wait until 2030.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chesney said the governor would likely support an effort to speed up the project.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cWe don\u2019t need any more debate, we don\u2019t need environmental impact studies we need to buy the right-of-way, we need to expand the road, we need to put lighting on it. This should be a priority project.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Texas Department of Public Safety has increased patrols along Highway 361 as the state continues its planning and engineering work. According to lawmakers, both the 361 expansion and the second causeway remain approved and on the state\u2019s schedule, but construction timetables depend on future funding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas \u2014 State leaders say two long-discussed Coastal Bend transportation projects are finally moving forward \u00a0just…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156],"class_list":{"0":"post-60393","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-corpus-christi","8":"tag-corpus-christi","9":"tag-corpus-christi-headlines","10":"tag-corpus-christi-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}