Welcome To Case's Column
Let me say a big welcome to all of you for joining me here. I'm going to call these blog meetings Case's Column. I wanted to use "Corner", but that was already taken.
Since 2008, it's been a real privilege to come on here and share some of my life with you, and it's a big world where we live.
In these blogs, I'll just speak whatever is on my mind, but we will be playing within the rules here. I may pick a particular topic, point out an event, or shoot the breeze. I'm a little bit of an essayist at times, so I'll just speak what's on my mind, and I might tell a story or two. Or, I might spew out an opinion or three. There will be some serious moments, some tender, some poignant, but there will also be those moments that you'll just bust out laughing. But, hopefully, everything will be in good fun here. And, of course, there's a place below for your comments and thoughts as we go along here. So feel free to join me for the ride -- I sure as heck hope I'm doing this right and not making any mistakes.
Thanks for taking your time in reading Case's Column. Hopefully, you'll enjoy being entertained by it as much as I've enjoyed putting these writings together. And thanks for the time you spend in City-Data.com, where it's great to be alive!
Regards,
case44
Let me say a big welcome to all of you for joining me here. I'm going to call these blog meetings Case's Column. I wanted to use "Corner", but that was already taken.
Since 2008, it's been a real privilege to come on here and share some of my life with you, and it's a big world where we live.In these blogs, I'll just speak whatever is on my mind, but we will be playing within the rules here. I may pick a particular topic, point out an event, or shoot the breeze. I'm a little bit of an essayist at times, so I'll just speak what's on my mind, and I might tell a story or two. Or, I might spew out an opinion or three. There will be some serious moments, some tender, some poignant, but there will also be those moments that you'll just bust out laughing. But, hopefully, everything will be in good fun here. And, of course, there's a place below for your comments and thoughts as we go along here. So feel free to join me for the ride -- I sure as heck hope I'm doing this right and not making any mistakes.
Thanks for taking your time in reading Case's Column. Hopefully, you'll enjoy being entertained by it as much as I've enjoyed putting these writings together. And thanks for the time you spend in City-Data.com, where it's great to be alive!
Regards,
case44
More Texas Road Work: What You Aren't Hearing About
In looking for an article mention, I'm surprised that the Texas Department of Transportation didn't touch on this in its District reports. Now, I haven't dug completely into all of the projects where the potatoes and gravy are, but I'm just stunned that this isn't in one of the big folders.
Laredo, Texas is seeing plenty of construction on Texas Loop 20 around the city's east side. Many of you already know about the northern portion of the expansion, concurrent with the realigned U.S. Highway 59 to bring up to interstate standards so that I-69W can become a reality for that stretch. You're also seeing and hearing (possibly) about a small stretch south of the U.S. 59 cutoff to Spur 400 (Clark Boulevard) undergoing freeway work and grade-separating.
But here is what we're not hearing much about (unless you live in Laredo, Texas).
Loop 20 is being upgraded to freeway status south of Spur 400 for about a seven-mile stretch, with a further extension to be constructed later which would tie in with U.S. 83. Planned is also going to be a western extension to serve as another Mexico border crossing, but that's not important now. This particular stretch should be considered for the future Interstate 2, which is an east-west interstate route expected to connect Laredo with the existing highway in the Rio Grande Valley. TXDOT's been quiet about that possibility just as much as they've been quiet (oddly) about the ongoing southeast expansion, but such an alignment is only logical. As I-2, it would connect to all the thoroughfares in south and southeast Laredo and, possibly, may open up a new can of worms, development-wise. There's growth down there. When you're looking at a future possibility for connecting with another interstate, there is a golden opportunity here, and when I-69W is fully completed through the 59/Business 59 connector, some consideration has to be in order for signing when there is sufficient work done.
Look at this way, sometimes what one forgot or didn't expect ends up a pleasant surprise. The guess here is that bigger and better things may well be just ahead for Laredo...............quite unexpectedly.
Laredo, Texas is seeing plenty of construction on Texas Loop 20 around the city's east side. Many of you already know about the northern portion of the expansion, concurrent with the realigned U.S. Highway 59 to bring up to interstate standards so that I-69W can become a reality for that stretch. You're also seeing and hearing (possibly) about a small stretch south of the U.S. 59 cutoff to Spur 400 (Clark Boulevard) undergoing freeway work and grade-separating.
But here is what we're not hearing much about (unless you live in Laredo, Texas).
Loop 20 is being upgraded to freeway status south of Spur 400 for about a seven-mile stretch, with a further extension to be constructed later which would tie in with U.S. 83. Planned is also going to be a western extension to serve as another Mexico border crossing, but that's not important now. This particular stretch should be considered for the future Interstate 2, which is an east-west interstate route expected to connect Laredo with the existing highway in the Rio Grande Valley. TXDOT's been quiet about that possibility just as much as they've been quiet (oddly) about the ongoing southeast expansion, but such an alignment is only logical. As I-2, it would connect to all the thoroughfares in south and southeast Laredo and, possibly, may open up a new can of worms, development-wise. There's growth down there. When you're looking at a future possibility for connecting with another interstate, there is a golden opportunity here, and when I-69W is fully completed through the 59/Business 59 connector, some consideration has to be in order for signing when there is sufficient work done.
Look at this way, sometimes what one forgot or didn't expect ends up a pleasant surprise. The guess here is that bigger and better things may well be just ahead for Laredo...............quite unexpectedly.
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Just a thought on potential future signage: Just when you thought it won't get more bizarre in Texas, can you imagine what will be on those future interstates? I-69W North will travel southbound through East Laredo, and, conversely, I-69W South in the northbound direction. Once the road curves to go east along U.S. 59 leaving the city, it will assume a normal pattern. In the same manner, I-2 (if it gets picked to officially run along southeast Loop 20) will also have a crazy quandary. I-2 East will run southbound and I-2 West will run northbound. This feature will hold true from Laredo until the Roma area, where the highway will curve eastward parallel to the Mexico border some four or five miles from it. Stay tuned.Posted 09-23-2019 at 01:43 PM by case44
