Longview intersection upgrade to be paid for using grant funds

LONGVIEW, Texas (KLTV) - Improvements are one step closer to happening for a congested intersection in Longview.

The Intersection of Loop 281 and Page Road has seen an increase in traffic and wrecks over the last few years. The Harrison County Commissioners Court voted to approve receiving a grant that will pay about half of the construction cost.

Traffic is heavy and fast at 281 and Page Road and it’s about to get heavier when the new Hallsville Elementary building is completed, according to Hallsville ISD Superintendent John Martin.

“I can only imagine once we open that school where we’re going to open it, the traffic is going to double, maybe triple,” Martin said.

Harrison County Judge Chad Sims said the City of Longview, NET RMA, TxDOT and Harrison County are working together to improve the intersection.

“Today in our commissioners court, we were awarded a hundred and five thousand dollars for the county to help with that project to help alleviate some of congestion or improve the road there on the county side,” Sims said.

The Longview city limit is just a few yards west of the intersection, so city and county are working together.

“I visited with Roland McFee, City Manager of Longview and we’ll coordinate with them to make our efforts fit right in with what the city is doing as well,” Sims said.

Harrison County will help with funding.

“Or our labor and equipment to help do the work. We’ll be doing part of that,” Sims said.

Sims said he hasn’t seen any designs of what the intersection will look like.

“Often times those things need a little more action even after the fact to get it right,” Sims said.

Still, he believes combining efforts will have a good outcome.

“I think it’s a great project. It’ll benefit that community as far as having a nice newer school, there for the school district and certainly we want to try to alleviate any congestion that we can,” Sims said.

The project will cost about 209 thousand dollars and will widen Page Road one and a half miles to the east of the intersection. The rest of the funding will come from TXDOT, Harrison County and The City of Longview.

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