Construction on U.S. Highway 175 could be completed in a year

By Art Lawler Cedar Creek Pilot

If you’ve been traveling from Athens to Mabank in recent years, you’ve probably put up with your share of driving misery.

The roadblocks, time delays and bumps are mostly gone now, and according to Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Public Information Officer Larry Krantz from Tyler, most of the heavy lifting has already been done.

“We appreciate the public’s patience during the construction phases of these projects,” Krantz said. “Hopefully they’ll be as happy with the new highway as we are.”

If motorists can endure some minor misery for a while longer, TxDOT contractors believe motorists should be traveling back and forth between the two communities with ease and swiftness in a year or so.

Actually, it shouldn’t be painful at all after July.

By then, according to Alec Hammac, a contractor with Garey Construction of Austin, two lanes of the four lane highway should be completed all the way.

That includes the new overpass, which is currently being installed at the intersection of State Highway 334 to a mile northwest of Farm-to-Market Road 316. The new overpass comes equipped with on and off ramps going east and west.

That leaves just the other two lanes to Mabank, which won’t be ready until the first part of next year, according to Hammac. The TxDOT goal is only a little less ambitious, with a completion date set for the summer of 2010.

“It’s going good,” Hammac said of TxDOT’s $25 million project.

He figures between $12 to $13 million of the $25 million is budgeted for that phase, and Hammac believes the work can be completed within the original budget.

“By the end of this year the job should be just about complete, with some detail work after the first of the year,” he said.

“These are pretty complex projects,” Krantz said. “There were a lot of bridges and culverts to build and replace, and that takes time.”

Workin’ on the road

Here’s a history of the three phases of the road expansion on U.S. 175:

• U.S. 175 from FM 316 (Eustace) to Loop 7 (Athens), a $21.3 million project, which began in April of 2006 and which should be completed sometime in April.

• U.S. 175 from FM 316 (Eustace) to Mabank ($25 million).This project is 60 percent complete. All bridges are done, bridge ramps are in progress. Once new lanes are completed, work will be done to rebuild old lanes. The anticipated completion date is the summer of 2010.

• U.S. 175 inside the city limits of Eustace, which began in November of 2005, was completed in August of 2008.