Petroplex News

City of Odessa issued the following announcement on Oct. 2

Work on Highway 385 throughout Odessa is scheduled to start a new phase the week of Oct. 5, 2020. (Reminder that Highway 385 has two other local names: Andrews Highway and Grant Avenue.)

Night work will start between Eighth Street and Second Street. The first stages will consist of removing brick pavers at crosswalks and filling the area in with temporary material. All crosswalks will be removed along and adjacent to Highway 385 (Grant Avenue). After the pavers are removed, the area will be paved, also at night. This should take less than six weeks to complete.

Meanwhile, work continues at the intersection of Highway 385 (Andrews Highway) and Highway 191 (42nd Street). As work proceeds, traffic patterns will change in the intersection. One such change is planned in mid-October. The concrete work should be completed before the Thanksgiving holiday. Similar work is also ongoing at the intersection of Yukon Road and Highway 385 (Andrews Highway).

After the concrete work at the two intersections is completed, Highway 385 between Highway 191 and Yukon will be resurfaced. A firm timeline for that has not been established.

Initial paving work on Highway 385 (South Grant) from East Pearl Street to Interstate 20 has been completed.

A final surface will be done in Spring 2021 along the entire project.   

Some traffic signal upgrades will also occur in the corridor. This work should not have major impacts on motorists. There may be brief periods when lights are in all-flashing mode or if all-way stops are employed for short durations.

Night work is used at times to reduce the impact the project has on local traffic. Working at night might also reduce exposure to heavy traffic flows that are common during the day, thereby reducing risks for work crews.

It is important to remember that concrete sometimes needs time to cure, so it may seem like a project is dormant during those times.

A 10-foot width restriction will be in place throughout the corridor.

Since both directions of traffic will be maintained during the project, motorists are reminded that state law requires them to obey warning signs and any flaggers encountered in the work zone. Slower speeds are also advised.

The project is scheduled to be completed in Summer 2021.

Reece Albert Inc. of Midland and San Angelo won the project with a low bid of a little less than $11.7 million.

For more information, contact Gene Powell at gene.powell@txdot.gov or (432) 498-4746.

Original source can be found here.