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
Here's A Suggestion For Laredo City Planners: Get Interstate 2 Going
Posted 10-18-2020 at 11:58 AM by case44
In looking at the Laredo (Texas) Metropolitan Planning Organization's future plans for the next twenty years, I am amazed at those thoroughfare plans they have for their fair burg. It'd be great to see them double, or even triple, their population base in a metro area that is an oasis, particularly to travelers coming in from the eastern reaches to get there.
Where Laredo's interstate and freeway structure is concerned, I am astonished that there's something missing from those plans. Now, I'll preface with this: State Loop 20 now has most of the infrastructure in place to accommodate an interstate-standard freeway in the southeastern part of the city. Oddly enough, the freeway hasn't been constructed north of the U.S. Highway 59 east cutoff. That boulevard is now being changed and worked in phases to bring what will be Interstate 69W to that part of the area. But it is the area south of that cutoff that I'm focusing on now. City planners may or may not be aware of future plans for Interstate 2, which, right now, only runs through the Rio Grande Valley area and is McAllen's busiest freeway. The mile markers which exist certainly suggest a distance from Laredo. And since Laredo is used as a control city on westbound Interstate 2, you'd think the folks in Laredo would have it in the backs of their minds to get such an undertaking started.
The MPO needs to make one more revision. It ought to include Future I-69W and Future I-2 in the plans. And I already know the location of 69W. And I will suggest to you the location of the future I-2. Drumroll, please....
State Loop 20.
Why not? U.S. 83 is being talked about as carrying the footprint of I-2's routing from the Valley up to Laredo. I-2 should be able to veer from 83 on to a new diagonal of Loop 20 if it ever gets initiated. But that's the easy answer to where I-2 would go. It would connect at a potential megachange with I-69W and Saunders Street in East Laredo. With incredible potential on the east and southeast sides of Laredo, not to mention possible plans for an outer loop east of that location and reportedly named after U.S. Representative (and local boy) Henry Cuellar, city officials would be nuts not to go for it when dealing with future transportation needs.
Like I've said about other Texas locales that haven't quite gotten there, Laredo needs to dream big.
Where Laredo's interstate and freeway structure is concerned, I am astonished that there's something missing from those plans. Now, I'll preface with this: State Loop 20 now has most of the infrastructure in place to accommodate an interstate-standard freeway in the southeastern part of the city. Oddly enough, the freeway hasn't been constructed north of the U.S. Highway 59 east cutoff. That boulevard is now being changed and worked in phases to bring what will be Interstate 69W to that part of the area. But it is the area south of that cutoff that I'm focusing on now. City planners may or may not be aware of future plans for Interstate 2, which, right now, only runs through the Rio Grande Valley area and is McAllen's busiest freeway. The mile markers which exist certainly suggest a distance from Laredo. And since Laredo is used as a control city on westbound Interstate 2, you'd think the folks in Laredo would have it in the backs of their minds to get such an undertaking started.
The MPO needs to make one more revision. It ought to include Future I-69W and Future I-2 in the plans. And I already know the location of 69W. And I will suggest to you the location of the future I-2. Drumroll, please....
State Loop 20.
Why not? U.S. 83 is being talked about as carrying the footprint of I-2's routing from the Valley up to Laredo. I-2 should be able to veer from 83 on to a new diagonal of Loop 20 if it ever gets initiated. But that's the easy answer to where I-2 would go. It would connect at a potential megachange with I-69W and Saunders Street in East Laredo. With incredible potential on the east and southeast sides of Laredo, not to mention possible plans for an outer loop east of that location and reportedly named after U.S. Representative (and local boy) Henry Cuellar, city officials would be nuts not to go for it when dealing with future transportation needs.
Like I've said about other Texas locales that haven't quite gotten there, Laredo needs to dream big.
Total Comments 0
