2 road-widening projects in Smith County being pushed back

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - The Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization met this afternoon and made an amendment to the order of three construction projects in Smith County.

The widening of Paluxy Drive and the construction of an overpass at FM 346 will now begin, simultaneously, in 2025.

Originally, the widening of Paluxy was set for 2024. The overpass construction was set for 2027.

Following that project, the widening of Rhones Quarter Road is tentatively set to begin in 2028, depending on what funding looks like closer to the time.

This project was originally expected to start in 2025.

“As the development of Rhones Quarter has been proceeding, there has been additional costs that have been noted based off the public feedback and what has been added to the project, but also just the overall inflation of the area. The cost of materials, concrete, has gone up quite a bit over the past few years, and it’s really necessitated that we look at the amount of revenue that we expect to have based off of the rising costs,” said MPO Director Michael Howell.

MPO projects are funded through a combination of state and federal dollars dedicated to highway projects.

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