Texas 80 to be widened in Gonzales County

More than $18 million in improvement and maintenance projects were awarded at a July 30 meeting by the Texas Transportation Commission to the TxDOT Yoakum District for work to be done in Gonzales, DeWitt and Victoria counties

The bulk of the money, $14,520,545.76, will be used to widen and add lanes to Texas 80 from the Guadalupe County/Gonzales County line to the intersection with US 90A in Belmont for a total of 5.806 miles. The winning bid was awarded to Hunter Industries of San Marcos.

Hunter Industries is currently working near the Nixon-Smiley CISD campus on widening Texas 80 as part of another contract for a stretch from 1.23 miles north of FM 1682 to the intersection with FM 1681. They also were awarded a $39,193,544.65 contract earlier this year to widen road and add lanes on Texas 80 from US 90A to 1.23 miles north of FM 1682.

The 2024 Unified Transportation Plan (UTP) for TxDOT called for the conversion of Texas 80 into a Super 2 Highway.

A Super 2 Highway is a two-lane rural highway in which a periodic passing lane has been added to allow faster vehicles to pass. The passing lane typically alternates from one direction of travel to the other within a section of roadway, which allows periodic passing opportunities in both directions in a safe manner. The transitions at the beginning and end of the passing lane allow sufficient room for the diverging and merging traffic.

Funding for Texas 80 was included in the plan due to its connectivity to Interstate 10, a vital corridor which connects San Antonio to Houston. The southern part of the highway also sees a great deal of energy sector traffic because of natural gas extraction in the Eagle Ford Shale, one of the largest natural gas fields in the country.

In DeWitt County, C.E. Barker Ltd. of Houston was awarded the project for highway improvement on FM 240 from US 87 to 0.385 miles south of US 87. Total bid amount was $898,096.88. And in Victoria County, STX Civil from Laredo won the contract to widen bridge at draw to STR #AA03-05-001 (Guadalupe Rd.) The bid amount was $2,763,608.42. The total amount awarded in all by the commission was $18,182,251.06.

As these projects begin, motorists are urged to stay alert and reduce speed near and through work zones, obey all traffic control and be aware of workers and moving equipment throughout all work zones. Exact construction start dates on these projects and related traffic detours have not yet been determined.