MIDLAND, TX (KWES) - Occidental Petroleum, the largest operator and oil producer in the Permian Basin, donated six miles of roadway (right of way) to the city of Midland.
With the recent boom in the economy, the city of Midland has had many new developments. With that, the city saw a need for infrastructure movement and really wanted to expand the transportation network.
"One of the challenges we had is that we didn't have a lot of right of way," Jose Ortiz, Engineering Services Director for city of Midland. "To accommodate the additional roadways we needed for projects. So working with Occidental and with a large landowner north of Midland and it made a lot of sense to work with them and see if we could work out some arrangements to secure long-term future right of way."
The six miles will be focused on three roadway extensions including Garfield Road, Midland Drive, and newly named Occidental Parkway, which is a three-mile east-west connection.
The city of Midland really wants to help residents by allowing better infrastructure so that traffic can flow more efficiently, but this process is expected to take a long amount of time.
"To secure the right of way, we need to go into the planning stage," Ortiz said. "We also need to seek opportunity for funding so it's still gonna be a little ways out. I wouldn't suspect we have roads built within the next five years. It's really gonna be planning and seeking funds and as the infrastructure is needed. We can certainly either partner with developers or the county or Occidental or whoever it may to get those roads put in, but again I wouldn't suspect that roads be constructed for five years."
An estimation of $2-$2.5 million in land is being donated to the city, but it is unknown at this time how much the entire project will cost.
