U.S. Highway 149 still in question

by Tom Burkindine

This article appeared in The Panola Watchman Wednesday, July 30, 2003 paper.

Design planners and engineers for the Texas Department of Transportation met with Panola County commissioners and the mayor of Beckville to hold preliminary discussions about proposed changes to State Highway 149.
Community disapproval of the proposed route of Hwy 149 which will bypass Beckville and widen the roadway to four lanes, has caused the consideration of other routes for the project, according to Mike Anderson, TxDOT area engineer.
TxDOT has begun looking into the possibility of widening the existing Hwy 149 to four lanes as one option, although this would likely increase costs for right of way, displacing utilities, environmental hazards, and safety concerns.
Beckville Mayor Gene Mothershed said he would like to conduct an official poll in Beckville to gather a more accurate impression of the citizens’ feelings on the matter.
Anderson said it was important to realize that these preliminary planning stages are only the beginning of a long process that could take many years.
He pointed out the construction that I currently underway on the U.S. 79 Loop in Carthage was planned in the mid- to late- 60s. Those planning stages were the equivalent of the planning currently underway for Hwy 149.
TxDOT District Engineer, Bob Ratcliff said it is important to realize how much traffic will use the highway by the time construction is completed and how this would affect Beckville if it ran through the town.
“We would already anticipate installing a traffic light at the intersection of F.M. 124 in the future. If we were to run a four lane highway by a school, we would probably need more stop lights. This is going to cause more congestion, when the purpose of the project is to reduce congestion,” Ratcliff said.
TxDOT now plans to review other possible routes to see if they are feasible. This process could take several months, according to Dennis Beckham, TxDOT transportation director of planning and development, because they would have to wait for the trees to lose their leaves to get aerial pictures.
TxDOT officials would then meet with county officials again to discuss their findings.