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Road work good for the long haul
By JERRY REED
Much of the main traffic arteries on Abilene's flanks will be works in progress in 1999.
The good news is that all this renovation will make for smoother traffic flow in the long run. In the short run, though, the going will definitely be rougher. Motorists just have to put up with some inconvenience and adjustments for a short while longer.
The oldest and least-obstructive highway project is on Loop 322 between Potosi Road and State Highway 36. Workmen are adding a lane in each direction, making the road a four-lane divided highway over that segment, as well as a completed expansion project between Potosi Road and U.S. 83-84, also known as the Winters Freeway.
Two future phases will complete the loop as a four-lane divided thoroughfare its entire length, from the Winters Freeway to Interstate 20.
Two more extensive construction jobs started in December, on the Winters Freeway and I-20.
When complete, I-20 will have a new road surface from just west of Pine Street to just east of State Highway 351. TxDOT officials expect the eastbound lanes to be completed in April, when workmen will switch to rehabbing the westbound lanes . The whole project could be finished in November, well ahead of original estimates, officials say.
Traffic has been routed onto the northbound lanes of the Winters Freeway on both sides of South 14th Street and both sides of Buffalo Gap Road. Southbound overpasses at both those locations were knocked down earlier this year, to be replaced by wider (three-lane) and higher overpasses. Three-lane traffic each way is, however, years in the future.
When all that's completed, along with rebuilding much of South Clack - the freeway's west access road - plus repositioning some off-ramps and digging three floodwater retention ponds, the traffic will shift to the renovated southbound lanes and the construction will shift to the northbound lanes and Danville Drive, the east access road.
While all the highway work is going on, CityLink will be making improvements without disrupting service, and prospective railroad passengers will probably have to await the new millennium to catch a train out of Abilene.
CityLink, honored as the best small transit system in North America last year, plans to upgrade waiting areas in the Carver neighborhood and hopes to provide night-time public transportation to former welfare recipients who need the service to keep their jobs.
John Autry, CityLink general manager, also is looking for ways to make the popular downtown trolleys serve the public even better in 1999. One trolley circles downtown every 30 minutes during an extended business day. Another circles downtown every 10 minutes between 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. for the convenience of diners at downtown restaurants.
City officials earmarked $100,000 in Tax Increment Financing District funds to seek to make a Dallas-to-El Paso leg of an Amtrak route a reality. But don't expect that to happen this year.
Much remains to be done, including working out an agreement for Amtrak to travel over Union Pacific's tracks, and for Midland and Odessa to climb on board with some cash.
In its favor, the Dallas-to-El Paso stretch would shave 10 hours off the 24 it now takes to travel from Dallas to the border city via San Antonio.
The other form of commercial surface travel between cities continues to grow consistently, according to Greyhound terminal manager Don Hadden.
Greyhound provides six bus round trips daily east to Dallas and points between and beyond, and a like number west to El Paso. Its subsidiary, Texas New Mexico & Oklahoma Coaches, offers three daily round-trips to Lubbock, two via transfer in Big Spring.
Two small intrastate bus lines, Arrow Trailways and Sun Set Stages, offer twice-daily round-trip service. Arrow's southeast route goes through Killeen to Houston, while Sun Set travels south through San Angelo to Del Rio.
Buses may be chartered from Sun Set, Greyhound (to a limited extent), Bilbrey Tours, and Doris & Gus Tours.
School groups, from elementary through university, are major charter bus customers.