MIDLAND, Texas — We're only a few days into 2022, and Midland residents may be starting the new year by going a different route. A big road project off Loop 250 and Highway 191 begins on Jan. 4, and it's expected to take well over a year to complete.
The plan is to do something called reversing ramps. This means that exit ramps will become entrance ramps, and entrance ramps will become exit ramps.
The ramps on both service roads between Wadley and Highway 191 on Loop 250 will be reversed, as will the service roads both eastbound and westbound on 191, between Avalon and Loop 250.
However, the eastbound ramp on 191 will also feature something else. It will become a braided ramp.
"On the eastbound version, it actually will become what’s called a braided ramp," Gene Powell, Texas Department of Transportation public information officer, said. "So the exit ramp and the entrance ramp will go over each other, one over the other, and happen right after the overpass at Deauville."
The goal of this project is to move on and off ramps further away from busier intersections.
"The exit ramp will be moved to allow people to queue up on the service roads instead of queuing up into the main lane of traffic on the highway," Powell said. "This is being done on 191."
That's one of the reasons: traffic flow. The other involves safety.
"It’s probably the busiest intersection in Midland-Odessa, if not the busiest, one of the busiest," Powell said. "By adding the extra lanes at the mid-level, we can handle traffic flow better by getting people off the main lanes and getting them up on the service roads. We should reduce the number of crashes."
As for how this impacts your commute, expect longer commute times.
"When work gets started again, it will cause some delays from time to time, so you know if you can find an alternate route that’s best," Powell said. "If not, you should probably add 15 to 20 minutes to your commute if you go between Odessa and Midland every morning."