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[bwana39]

Last summer, TXDOT started a rebuild of the US-59 bridge over I-20 in Marshall. A lot of the truck traffic has actually started following US-79 to Shreveport and I-49 to Texarkana. The delays in Marshall were to blame. One would wonder if it will shift back when this sieve situation is finished.  Or will it remain this way until the SL-390 extension to I-20 is completed? This bridge is NOT part of the I-369 upgrades.

The traffic density on I-49 has increased notably.

I-369 seems to basically function as a Shreveport bypass for I-30-bound traffic.

I all but agree with you BUT.

1) The traffic load on US 59 is already fairly high: higher than I-49 from Shreveport to Texarkana.
2) There is no good path between US 59 and I-49. Traffic chooses US-59 as it is.
     A) US 79 is two lanes from Bethany to Greenwood (LA Section)
     B) I-20 is near capacity from Marshall to Shreveport (Actually from Dallas to Monroe at least).
     C) Other routes (Primarily US 84) are substandard.


I-49 was built to finish the northern Hurricane escape route. Prior to its completion, SHreveport would get  inundated with evacuees. Now they can travel on an interstate directly from Layfayette to Texarkana, Little Rock and beyond if needed.  Day-to day traffic needs seem beside the point.

I tend to agree with you that a 4-lane rural divided highway with controlled access loops around all of the towns and overpasses at all major intersections would PROBABLY be enough from Lufkin North.  That said, it is a trade off. Take the route and profits from inside the small towns and get Interstate Access.  While I disagree with the whole branding concept. When it comes to economic development, the INTERSTATE HIGHWAY brand is a selling point especially outside of major urban areas.

What is economic development? From one pov, it is bringing in jobs and construction to provide jobs and tax base to future generations so they can remain in their home communities.

Another way of looking at it is conversion of lower value assets (agricultural or low density usage land) to higher value assets (commercial / industrial land).  While commercial / industrial real estate is a longer term investment, the payouts tend to be 10X the investments.

Without this premium brand being bestowed on a given community, why would they support the eventual losses of business in their inner city. (Think Corrigan or Diboll).  Moving out to  the freeway is a slow not painless proposition for the folks who own fixed assets along the old routing.

[CoreySamson]

I did notice that US 79 between Shreveport and Carthage had more trucks than I expected for a two-lane rural highway when I drove it about a month ago. I also find it interesting that you said traffic has increased on I-49 between Texarkana and Shreveport. Traffic must have been super-dead when it first opened!

[bwana39]

I did notice that US 79 between Shreveport and Carthage had more trucks than I expected for a two-lane rural highway when I drove it about a month ago. I also find it interesting that you said traffic has increased on I-49 between Texarkana and Shreveport. Traffic must have been super-dead when it first opened!

Truck traffic has probably tripled on I-49 north of Shreveport in the past year. Auto traffic is up some.  I can remember after it was completely open from Texarkana to I-220 never passing or getting passed all the way from Texarkana to N. Market. in the morning.  It was a lot busier a year or so ago, but the increase in the past year is pretty significant.

That said, it really isn't very busy even now.

[Urban Prairie Schooner]

I did notice that US 79 between Shreveport and Carthage had more trucks than I expected for a two-lane rural highway when I drove it about a month ago. I also find it interesting that you said traffic has increased on I-49 between Texarkana and Shreveport. Traffic must have been super-dead when it first opened!

Truck traffic has probably tripled in the past year. Auto traffic is up some.  I can remember after it was completely open from Texarkana to I-220 never passing or getting passed all the way from Texarkana to N. Market. in the morning.  It was a lot busier a year or so ago, but the increase in the past year is pretty significant.

That said, it really isn't very busy even now.

The number of trucks leaving I-20 for US 79 (LA169) at Greenwood is insane.

[CoreySamson]

I did notice that US 79 between Shreveport and Carthage had more trucks than I expected for a two-lane rural highway when I drove it about a month ago. I also find it interesting that you said traffic has increased on I-49 between Texarkana and Shreveport. Traffic must have been super-dead when it first opened!

Truck traffic has probably tripled in the past year. Auto traffic is up some.  I can remember after it was completely open from Texarkana to I-220 never passing or getting passed all the way from Texarkana to N. Market. in the morning.  It was a lot busier a year or so ago, but the increase in the past year is pretty significant.

That said, it really isn't very busy even now.

The number of trucks leaving I-20 for US 79 (LA169) at Greenwood is insane.

Yeah I got stuck behind two slow-turning trucks at that interchange and pretty much all the way to the LA/TX border. I guess it shows the need for I-69 in the area, which I had not considered to be important section in the past, but now I actually see why it will be necessary in the future. Maybe in 20-30 years we'll start seeing talks of building I-69 in LA.

[bwana39]

I did notice that US 79 between Shreveport and Carthage had more trucks than I expected for a two-lane rural highway when I drove it about a month ago. I also find it interesting that you said traffic has increased on I-49 between Texarkana and Shreveport. Traffic must have been super-dead when it first opened!

Truck traffic has probably tripled in the past year. Auto traffic is up some.  I can remember after it was completely open from Texarkana to I-220 never passing or getting passed all the way from Texarkana to N. Market. in the morning.  It was a lot busier a year or so ago, but the increase in the past year is pretty significant.

That said, it really isn't very busy even now.

The number of trucks leaving I-20 for US 79 (LA169) at Greenwood is insane.

A lot of that is actually for the truck stops. Even 20 years ago when there was only Flying J and NO I-49 N there was crazy truck traffic for Flying J. Has to be even more with Love's there too. Much of this traffic is I-20 using the truck stops traffic; NOT US-79 traffic.

[The Ghostbuster]

Have there been any Future Interstate 369 signs erected along the US 59 corridor between Texarkana and Tenaha, since it will likely be quite some time before the freeway is completed south of Texarkana? Also, does anyone know when the Interstate 369 northern extension to future Interstate 49 might be constructed?

[Bobby5280]

I don't think there are any concrete plans at all for the segment of I-369 on the North side of Texarkana. AFAIK TX DOT still doesn't have plans yet for extending I-49 up across the Red River in Arkansas.

For now it seems like TX DOT is only concentrating on a couple segments of I-369 to the South of I-30. They're still trying to figure out how to get I-369 to depart from the TX-151 loop SW down the US-59 corridor. They done studies and reached a consensus to upgrade along the existing US-59 roadway, but that will mean buying and clearing a whole lot of properties. Extending I-369 North of I-30 appears to be an even more difficult problem. It looks like any Northern quadrant of a I-369 loop would have to extend North from I-30 out miles West of town.

Bypass plans in Marshall appear father along. Construction on that could begin in the next couple years.

[bwana39]

I don't think there are any concrete plans at all for the segment of I-369 on the North side of Texarkana. AFAIK TX DOT still doesn't have plans yet for extending I-49 up across the Red River in Arkansas.

For now it seems like TX DOT is only concentrating on a couple segments of I-369 to the South of I-30. They're still trying to figure out how to get I-369 to depart from the TX-151 loop SW down the US-59 corridor. They done studies and reached a consensus to upgrade along the existing US-59 roadway, but that will mean buying and clearing a whole lot of properties. Extending I-369 North of I-30 appears to be an even more difficult problem. It looks like any Northern quadrant of a I-369 loop would have to extend North from I-30 out miles West of town.

Bypass plans in Marshall appear father along. Construction on that could begin in the next couple years.

As I understand it, TXDOT has purchased the I-49 path north of Texarkana and is allowing the previous owners to continue using it for agricultural use until the time comes to build the road. That may be decades from now.

US-59 / Loop-390 around Marshall TXDOT looks to be planning to build from US-80 to IH-20 beginning, as you said, in the next couple of years.  It initially would use a I-20 link to the existing US-59 near the south of town. The portion from IH-20 to the current US-59 probably would be farther down the line.

As to I-369 there are zero plans beyond I-30. Texarkana interests are firmly wanting it to come to LOOP-151 as 59 currently does.  There is discussion for I-369 to extend slightly west of FM2148 to meet I-49 north of Texarkana Texas, but that is a non-starter until I-369 or I-X30 meets Loop 151.

As to extending I-369 directly north of I-30, that is not really feasible now. The original plan of I-49 (or the "NEW US-71" as it was called back then), was for it to follow the current Loop 151 from US-71 west around Texarkana Texas and then to continue to the currently identified Red River Crossing.

When Mike Huckabee was Arkansas governor, all of this changed. Huckabee had Arkansas start building I-49 around the East side of town.  Any sense of cooperation between the two sides (which up until the late 90's shared a police force) soon dried up. Huckabee even had the ZIP codes changed in Miller County from "Texas based" 755XX numbers to "Arkansas based" 718XX ones. It got even worse when Former Texarkana (Texas) ISD Superintendent became the Texas side city manager.  Today, The fire departments do not aid one another. Mutual aid from Nash or Wake Village goes to TA but the two Texarkanas do not provide mutual aid for fires. Arkansas side

[bwana39]

Have there been any Future Interstate 369 signs erected along the US 59 corridor between Texarkana and Tenaha, since it will likely be quite some time before the freeway is completed south of Texarkana? Also, does anyone know when the Interstate 369 northern extension to future Interstate 49 might be constructed?

There are no "future I-369 signs."  The last Future sign is for I-69 in Shelby county that is not even on the currently favored route.