I-20 Midland / Odessa expansion project

[Chris]

TxDOT plans to expand I-20 through the Midland / Odessa area to a six lane freeway with frontage roads being converted to one-way operations throughout the corridor.

The project cost is estimated at $ 770 million, with around half of that being for I-20 itself and the rest for frontage roads and interchange reconfiguration.

Schematics can be found here: https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/get-involved/about/hearings-meetings/odessa/032519.html

I've browsed through the schematics, they plan to reconstruct many interchanges, but there won't be any grand freeway-to-freeway interchanges with direct connectors to the loop roads of Midland and Odessa.

(click to enlarge):

[Bobby5280]

Most of the loop roads in the Midland-Odessa area are a mash-up of freeway and upgrade-able 2 lane or 4-lane expressways (some made as frontage roads with blank medians, other parts with a decent amount of open ROW).

Loop 250 and I-20 in Midland is the only one right now that would be worth turning into a directional freeway to freeway T interchange. Loop 250 and Texas 191 in Midland would also by worthy of upgrading into a directional T interchange. But that would be a tight squeeze with the huge new H.E.B. grocery store and other commercial development right on the corners where the flyovers would be built.

[DJStephens]

It's surely a large enough metro by now, to warrant some 3di designations.  Have no idea what the aversion is.

[sparker]

It's surely a large enough metro by now, to warrant some 3di designations.  Have no idea what the aversion is.

Now that there isn't any more chargeable mileage to garner a 90% Fed share, it's likely an aversion to spending money.  And right now M/O attention, as far as new highways are concerned, are primarily focused on getting the I-14 corridor to terminate in their metro area -- and if it were decided to send I-27 their way out of Lubbock, they'd certainly latch on to that as well.  Just upgrading one of their loops to Interstate standards wouldn't draw the sort of attention that a new trunk route would.  They've gotten along without a 3di for 60+ years -- they seem to have bigger fish to fry! 

[froggie]

It's surely a large enough metro by now, to warrant some 3di designations.  Have no idea what the aversion is.

They have I-20.  No real need for 3dis, in addition to what sparker noted about "chargeable mileage".