TxDOT Crews Busy on Lufkin Roads

You may encounter some delays and detours this week when traveling around Lufkin.  Crews from the Texas Department of Transportation will be doing some repairs and/or construction on Business 59 and on the East Loop.  According to a release from Tx DOT, areas of Loop 287 from FM 58 to SH 103 east will be reduced to one lane of traffic for the remainder of this week.  Crews are applying the annual seal coating the existing roadway. Motorists are asked to reduce speed and be alert to workers directing traffic and machinery that is in use as they travel through the construction area.

“A seal coat is an application of a layer of asphalt binder covered with a layer of aggregate applied to an existing surface,” said Rhonda Oaks, public information officer with the Lufkin District. “This yearly application cost is $180 million statewide and helps maintain the 186,600 lane miles of roadway. We urge motorists to remain alert through the nine-county Lufkin District since there are several seal coating projects going on and scheduled to begin throughout the summer.”

Elsewhere, northbound lanes of traffic will be closed on Business 59/North Timberland Drive at the ongoing railroad bridge project Thursday night beginning at 8 p.m.  TxDOT officials have announced the closure in order to move heavy equipment about 400-feet along the roadway to a new location for continued work on the project. The lanes should be closed about two hours for the relocation of the equipment.

Motorists should plan to take alternate routes Thursday night during the lane closure and be alert to work crews in the area preparing to move the heavy equipment.

The construction project will continue to progress out of the lanes of traffic in the next few weeks in preparation to replace the railroad underpass and redesign the four-lane roadway beneath the bridge.

Contractor crews continue to work to install a temporary bridge for train traffic while the old bridge is being replaced. The clearance beneath the bridge will also be increased by lowering the highway underneath it. New pavement, raised islands, storm drains, curb & gutter and sidewalks are all a part of the enhancement.

The project should be complete by summer, 2016.