A $25 million expansion of U.S. Highway 77 over the Guadalupe River in Victoria County, Texas is set to begin this year.
The projects calls for adding two lanes on the southeast side of the highway, creating a four lane divided highway on U.S. 77, running 2.5 miles between Farm-to Market Road 1685 and U.S. Highway 87.
The project involves expanding the two-lane roadway's 12-ft lanes and 8-ft shoulders to have four 12-ft lanes and 10-ft outside shoulders, 4-ft inside shoulders and a 10-ft median.
State data shows at least four fatal wrecks have occurred on the bridges over Guadalupe River since 2008.
It's not that Texas Department of Transportation built an unsafe project but that the traffic counts in that area exceeded the expectations since 1998, said Tom Halepaska, chairman of the Metropolitan Planning Organization
The timeline includes about six months to get the contract signed, materials ordered and a secure a contractor. Construction will take about 2.5 years.
Along with expanding the roadway, seven new bridges would be constructed adjacent to the existing bridges.
