EAGLE LAKE — The Eagle Lake Noon Lions Club welcomed two key employees of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Yoakum District on April 27. Ryan Simper, right, is the engineer for the Wharton Area of the Yoakum District and is in charge of construction and maintenance within four Counties. Lucean Kuykendall is the Public Information Officer for the entire eleven-county Yoakum District Simpler spoke about the responsibilities of the Yoakum District to plan, design, build, operate and maintain the state transportation system in its 11 counties: Austin, Calhoun, Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette, Gonza- les, Jackson, Lavaca, Matagorda, Victoria, and Wharton.
The district is responsible for two major corridors, I-10 and US 59, which are vital components to Texas transportation, and currently has $1.0 Billion construction projects under contract to upgrade US 59 throughout the district to I-69 standards and add additional lanes to IH 10.
Simpler spoke of some of the planned Key Projects in our area during the next four years:
•IH 10 in Colorado County: Add additional lanes in both directions- $600 million
•US 59 around Wharton: Upgrade to interstate standards$250 million
•US 77 in Fayette County: Add 2 lanes to create a 4-lane divided highway- $ 100 million
•US 77 in Victoria County: Add 2 lanes to create a 4-lane divided highway- $ 60 million Safety is an additional important TxDOT responsibility: The Yoakum District’s safety program currently has over $35 million budgeted for the next four years. There are projects underway to widen roads, add turn lanes, add median barriers and install sidewalks.
Also, the district is working on adding new traffic signals, upgrading existing traffic signals and adding overhead lighting.
Lastly, Simpler highlighted the goal of roadway maintenance: The Yoakum District spends an average of $15 million to seal coat 350 miles of roadway each year. They also crack seal approximately 1,500-lane miles of roadway each year to preserve the pavement life.
