The draft report for the Forward50 Metropolitan Transportation Plan is now out and public review and comment process lasts until Nov. 9.
The Permian Basin MPO is responsible for planning the multimodal transportation system in Odessa, Midland and portions of Ector, Midland and Martin counties, Cameron Walker, executive director of the Permian Basin MPO said.
The MPO’s 25 year draft plan includes an estimated 3.5 billion of federal, state money and local funds for the highway network. An additional $175 million will be utilized for public transit service.
Highlights within the plan include two new interstates, I-27 and I -14, and two direct connects, as well as major improvements in both cities.
“I can’t think of another place, certainly in Texas, that’s got two new interstates coming within the next 25 years,” Walker said.
He added that it offers a tremendous economic boost and that there has been a lot of collaboration between cities, counties, TxDOT and EZ Ridger to get the plan to this point.
The draft document includes a history of the region, the socioeconomic story of the greater Odessa-Midland area and surrounding rural areas.
Along with the interstates, the U.S. 385 corridor will be reconstructed to interstate standards all the way from Cane County into the City of Odessa.
“Then you’ve got I-27 coming in on the east side of our boundary along Highway 158, commonly referred to as the Garden City Highway going out of Midland.
That corridor will also be developed to interstate standard beginning at the southeastern portion of the MPO boundary all the way through and along I-20 and then up (FM) 1788, and eventually the Craddick Highway where it ties into the north side of Midland. Those two interstates (were) recently approved at the federal level and the projected funding for them is going to be coming to us through TxDOT,” Walker said.
Walker said the two corridors are very important to the economic “value and strength” of the region. They will also take some of the pressure off the I-35 corridor.
“I-27 is also known as the Ports to Plains Corridor. It’s been planned for many decades and only recently did it get upgraded to an interstate by Congress,” he said.
“With that said, the other major improvements that we’re looking at and are listed in the plan are to take major portions of Loop 338 around Odessa and turn them into freeway sections similar to what exists along State Highway 191 or in portions of the north side of Midland where you’ve got frontage roads, main lanes, overpasses. Where connectivity along the 338 corridor has improved, so has safety and so has economic value,” Walker added.
Another major piece in the plan is the proposal for two direct connects. Walker said you see those in Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth and larger communities.
“There aren’t any direct connects here, but we’re proposing two of them — one where 338 East ties into State Highway 191 and the other one on the Midland side where 191 ties into Loop 250. There’s a lot of interregional commuter traffic between the two cities. That 191 corridor is used a lot,” he added.
The direct connect will not only help congestion, but it will improve safety, Walker said.
“Currently we have got all of our projects, which means all of our funding as well, tied up through the year 2034. That’s under what TxDOT calls their UTP, the Unified Transportation Program. It’s a 10-year document that lists every project statewide including the dollar amount and when it would start within that 10-year window. We’re now talking beyond 2034 commencing as early as 2035, but it’s going to take a lot of work to get the interstate planning done including any right-of-way acquisition that may be necessary and/or environmental documentation to clear the path for construction to begin,” Walker said.
“We’re expecting the plan to go to the board in November for final review and approval. … The members of our board include two cities, three counties, EZ Rider and TxDOT. We have a seven-member board that approves our documentation and approves our projects,” he added.
Another plan highlight is a proposal to take FM 866 FM on the way to the eastern end of the MPO boundary from a two-lane road to a four-lane divided highway for economic and safety reasons.
I-20 is also getting widened to six lanes. Walker said there is more than $1.4 billion being committed to I-20 and some of it is under construction.
“That in itself will take some of the congestion out and the safety. What TxDOT is doing is the roads that currently cross I-20, i.e. go over it, are going to be reversed so that I-20 will now go over those roads.
You can see that at Midkiff and Cotton Flat (roads) in Midland and on County Road 1250 in Midland, he said.
“That side of the I-20 construction has moved along fairly quickly. The next pieces will involve the Ector County side from (FM) 1936 all the way to JBS,” Walker added.
