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TYLER COUNTY – The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has scheduled two upcoming public meetings concerning the routes being considered for the US 69 relief route project named the “US 69 Woodville-Colmesneil Relief Route.”
The first of the meetings will take place on Tuesday, June 4, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Kirby Gymnasium, on the Wheat Elementary/Woodville Intermediate campus of Woodville ISD, located at 507 Kirby Drive, in Woodville.
On Thursday, June 6, the second scheduled meeting will take place, also from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the campus of Warren High School, in Warren.
The project, which was greenlit by TxDOT last year, was proposed as a way to support safe and efficient traffic flow from the north to south ends of the county, has four possible routes up as possibilities. One of them includes the old railroad right-of-way, labeled as alternate route “D” on TxDOT’s map.
The project has met with concern from many Tyler County residents and businesspeople; many of whom are concerned that a route utilized other than the “D” route would have a devastating effect on the county and take out many commercial and residential properties in Colmesneil, Woodville, Hillister and Warren.
The route would stretch 25 miles, from one mile south of Recreational Road 255 in Colmesneil down to one mile south of Black Creek, near Warren.
The relief route roadway, according to a TxDOT overview, would “generally include two 12-foot travel lanes in each direction, a northbound 13-foot outside shoulder to be used as a hurricane evacuation lane, a southbound 10-foot outside shoulder and two-lane frontage roads in each direction that would require approximately 400 feet of right-of-way (ROW) width.”
Steve Pittman, a Colmesneil resident, who is raising public awareness of the project and its possible ramifications, said that in a recent meeting with TxDOT District Engineer Martin Gonzalez, the term “destination businesses” stuck out to him.
“He kept referring to ‘destination businesses’,” Pittman said. “I said, ‘Look, these businesses are not destination businesses’.”
He said that businesses, such as the Burger House in Colmesneil, which would be affected by one of the route possibilities, received more out-of-town traffic than local customers.
Pittman, and several other residents, who had a letter to TxDOT drafted by attorneys Brad Elrod and Tommy D. Fortenberry, favor the old railroad route, and claim it was the long-accepted route for any highway expansion projects.
Many of the hundreds of public comments TxDOT received last October in the initial round of public meetings concerning the project also voiced favor for the railroad route.
Woodville businesswoman Melissa Riley submitted a comment stating that “The railroad has been the focal point for the ‘new’ 69 for over 20 years. People knew this and accepted this and knew not to buy or build near the RR.”
One proposed route, route “B,” which would go west, would affect Riley’s business, along with several homes, and the Scott Scout Ranch, which is owned by the Boy Scouts of America (formerly Camp Urland). Many who supplied comment voiced concern over this possibility.
“Routes B and C go through [Scott Scout Ranch]. This would split the property in half resulting in major safety concerns and render the entire camp useless,” wrote Phillip Stewart.
According to TxDOT’s timeline, a draft preliminary design and draft environmental assessment is expected by fall of this year, with a public hearing to take place in the winter and environmental decisions made by next spring. Nothing has been decided yet, and all of the scheduling is tentative and subject to change, according to TxDOT.
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