City of San Benito officials together with representatives of the Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDOT) are shown Monday at a ribbon cutting ceremony marking the opening of a new FM 732 corridor. (Courtesy photo)
By MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ
Managing Editor
editor@sbnewspaper.com
In what Mayor Joe H. Hernandez called a “long overdue” project, City of San Benito officials together with representatives of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) gathered Monday for a ribbon cutting ceremony that marked the opening of a new FM 732 corridor in town.
The ribbon cutting, sponsored by the San Benito Chamber of Commerce, was held at the site of Phase 1 of the project, which is nearly a mile of roadway located between south of US Expressway 77/83 and Business 77. Phase 2 is approximately two miles in length and stretches from Long Lane to south of the expressway.
According to TxDOT Area Engineer Arnold Cortez, the project, completed in February, totaled over $4 million in state monies, $2,021,583 for Phase 1 and $2,064,052 for Phase 2. Additional railroad work prevented the corridor’s opening until now, Cortez said.
Phase 1, contracted to IOC out of Weslaco, is 64 ft. wide with four 12 ft. lanes and two eight ft. shoulders. Phase 2 is a 44 ft.-wide roadway of two 12 ft. lanes and two 10 ft. shoulders, a leg of road contracted to G&T Paving of Brownsville for construction. Both phases have proposed 120 ft. right of ways and a signal lights intersection at Business 77 as well as blinking light signals at Stenger, Yost, Pennsylvania, and Sherer Road.
Additionally, this corridor does not just utilize an undisturbed roadway from Long Lane (just off of US Highway 281) to Business 77 in San Benito but also connects to FM 510, leading to Bayview. Furthermore, the possibility of the corridor leading to a new causeway to South Padre Island has state and city officials enthused.
In fact, the mayor was elated.
“We’re very happy as far as it being open and complete. I’m overjoyed,” Hernandez said when stressing the significance of the corridor and its potentiality of spurring business growth in town. “This is something that was long overdue. Of course, this is something that has also already been projected for some time. So it’s a dream come true.”
The mayor said all properties along the corridor will be zoned commercial in efforts to increase economic development efforts in the area, not to mention an influx of traffic he hopes will boost the city’s sales tax revenues.
“What’s beneficial is that this adds another corridor to San Benito as this road is hooked up to the main arteries of the expressway,” said Chamber President Zeke Padilla.
To see this story in print, pick up a copy of the July 27 edition of the San Benito News. Or view our E-Edition by clicking here.
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