Agency to take input on proposed route study

The Texas Department of Transportation’s Atlanta District Office will hold an open-house public meeting tonight in Queen City to get residential input on a proposed TxDOT route study.

Tonight’s meeting is the first of two this week.

The study will examine if a stretch of U.S. Highway 59 between Texarkana and Queen City can be converted into an interstate roadway to accommodate traffic.

Tonight’s meeting is slated to take place 5 to 7 p.m. inside the Moriss Upchurch Middle School in the 500 block of Fifth Street in Queen City. The second meeting will be 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Liberty-Eylau High School, 2905 Leopard Drive.

The study focuses on the potential for new routes possibly needed to veer out of both the east and west side of a portion of this upgraded version of U.S. 59—which will run between southwest Texarkana and the Sulphur River. If upgraded, this portion of U.S. Highway 59 will serve as a spur connecting the future Interstate 69 with Interstate 30.

“Basically what this means is that we will be keeping, but upgrading, the old U.S. 59 footprint, but we know that there are both residential homes and businesses on both the east and west side of the highway once it gets north of the Sulphur River,” a local official said. “These potential routes may cause some concern from both home and business owners about where these routes will run. That is what we will need public input on.”