Reliever route moving along By STEVE REAGAN
Staff Writer
State and federal transportation officials are mulling over plans to construct a reliever route on Highway 87 that would divert heavy truck traffic from downtown Big Spring.
Roy Dill, area engineer for the local Texas Department of Transportation office, said consultants are making final revisions to the plan calling for a 12.2 mile route to gain approval from state and federal agencies. If approved, it would be at least three years before construction begins and another two years after that before the project is completed, Dill estimated. “It all depends on funding,” Dill said. “We're expecting it to take two years from the time plans are finally approved ... for us to complete right of way purchases,” Dill said. “I would say it would be about three years before we begin actual construction.” Plans call for the four-lane reliever route to begin at FM 700 north of Big Spring, extend southwest to cross Interstate 20 between Stallings Road and the local airport, then southeast to rejoin Highway 87 just north of the Garden City Highway. Preliminary estimates place the cost of the project at $120 million. Aside from being part of the overall Ports To Plains project that would stretch from Canada to Mexico, the reliever route also would have a built-in safety bonus, Dill said. “The main thing is that it would remove trucks from going downtown,” he said. “There are safety concerns that if we had a truck carrying chemicals or other hazardous cargo involved in an accident downtown, that would be a significant hardship. This project would remove a number of (intersections) where those kind of accidents typically occur.” A truck reliever route for Highway 87 has been talked about since the 1970s, but increased political support for the Ports To Plains project has TxDOT officials more confident that the idea will finally be approved, Dill said. If the project is approved, Dill envisions construction being done in stages, with the southern portion of the route getting top priority. The remainder of the route would be completed as funding is received, he added. “If we received the entire $120 million all at once, I'm sure it would be completed faster,” Dill said. “But I don't see that happening.” If the project is improved, TxDOT will hold a series of public hearings to gain input from area residents, he added.
Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at
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