Proposed Toll 49 expansion plan

LONGVIEW – As a proposed expansion to Toll 49 takes shape, contractors and officials have presented changes and adjustments at the North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority (NET RMA) meeting on Tuesday, after East Texans’ voiced concerns for safety.

At Longview’s Mod Cobb Convention Center, locals gathered for the NET RMA’s public information meeting to hear about the expansion project, which would stretch from State Highway 110 to US 271 and give drivers another option for traveling east from Tyler.

“We’re here to get public input and feedback on what we’ve been doing as we look to try and develop Loop 49 on the eastern side of Tyler,” Randall Dillar, a NET RMA consultant, said. “What we’re looking to do is try to find a way to address the mobility concerns in the eastern part of Tyler.”

Some residents have raised concerns regarding the road’s proximity to schools, such as the Save Kids from Loop 49 advocacy group, which looks to keep school children safe from the effects the expansion may have.

Since the first public hearing, changes have already come about, moving the route farther from the elementary school. Despite the approved reroute, some still think the project is too close to schools and highly populated roads.

“We realized that they were bringing that road extremely close to Kissam Elementary School, which is the most popular school in the Chapel Hill area as well as right through the intersection of one of the most populated areas, as well as high traffic, congested areas,” Roberty Wilson, the co-founder of Save Kids from Loop 49, said. “We also learned that there were a number of issues with having a toll road to start with, including the fact that they said toll roads would pay for themselves, but they haven’t. They’ve gotten a lot of well over $100 million in government funding.”

When asked about the safety of the current Toll 49, representatives for the project said they could only speak on the new expansion, but explained that the future project has safety in mind. 

“We would look to build it with the grass median in the center,” Dillard said. “It will be a median that is wider than the I-10 median.”