Get ready for growth, and growing pains
A story in The Enterprise this past Sunday included information from people who must drive U.S. 69 through the Lumberton area and what a headache that has become.
I certainly agree. If I have to drive through that bottleneck, I at least try to do it during non-peak traffic times.
And then there’s the southern part of U.S. 69, where a pipeline leak and fire and subsequent repair, blocked traffic there for several days. Weather even closed a portion of the highway for a time this week.
Add to those issues, the amount of construction and repair being done to area roads, as reflected by frequent Texas Department of Transportation bulletins, and the region seems to have become one big traffic jam.
I got stuck in one the other evening that turned by 15-minute commute into an hour and a half of torture. I didn’t like it, but I DO understand its necessity.
By all accounts, the region is about to explode with industrial expansion and economic development, so we all need to get used to what that growth will mean.
Apartment construction is surging, work is underway to prepare basic infrastructure such as highways for this growth, area school districts are planning and seeking funding for expansion and improvement.
We’re going to have a boom one expert has likened to Spindletop, the 1901 oil strike that brought petroleum as an industry to the area.
The expected economic benefits will mean growth, new businesses, and an environment more conducive to providing high-paying professional jobs that will help keep our young people in this area.
So, as those traffic jams test your patience, remember what this growth means – a brighter future for the next generation. And, watch our Web site for traffic updates, allow extra time, plan alternate routes and wait, patiently, in line until it is your turn.
Please don’t be one of those impatient drivers cutting in and out of traffic and/or driving on the shoulder of the highway. We want you, and the other drivers, to live to see the bright future that is coming our way.
I certainly agree. If I have to drive through that bottleneck, I at least try to do it during non-peak traffic times.
And then there’s the southern part of U.S. 69, where a pipeline leak and fire and subsequent repair, blocked traffic there for several days. Weather even closed a portion of the highway for a time this week.
Add to those issues, the amount of construction and repair being done to area roads, as reflected by frequent Texas Department of Transportation bulletins, and the region seems to have become one big traffic jam.
I got stuck in one the other evening that turned by 15-minute commute into an hour and a half of torture. I didn’t like it, but I DO understand its necessity.
By all accounts, the region is about to explode with industrial expansion and economic development, so we all need to get used to what that growth will mean.
Apartment construction is surging, work is underway to prepare basic infrastructure such as highways for this growth, area school districts are planning and seeking funding for expansion and improvement.
We’re going to have a boom one expert has likened to Spindletop, the 1901 oil strike that brought petroleum as an industry to the area.
The expected economic benefits will mean growth, new businesses, and an environment more conducive to providing high-paying professional jobs that will help keep our young people in this area.
So, as those traffic jams test your patience, remember what this growth means – a brighter future for the next generation. And, watch our Web site for traffic updates, allow extra time, plan alternate routes and wait, patiently, in line until it is your turn.
Please don’t be one of those impatient drivers cutting in and out of traffic and/or driving on the shoulder of the highway. We want you, and the other drivers, to live to see the bright future that is coming our way.
posted by Sheila Friedeck at 1:05 PM
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