MIDLAND COUNTY, Texas — Nearly a week and a half ago, Midland County held a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new portion of Yukon Road, the newest section to be opened up in the county.
It didn't take long for the ceremonial scissors to be brought back out.
County commissioners held another ribbon cutting ceremony Monday morning for the opening of South County Road 1232 at Monahan's Draw.
This new road will provide a continuous route south of Midland from highway 158 to the western end of Loop 250, completing a loop around Midland.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Luis Sanchez oversaw a majority of the construction, which began in 2020.
“The planning and the work took about three to four years," Sanchez said. "A lot of the work was done in the last couple of years. So it took some time, but we were able to get the money together to get it done, so we are very excited that it’s finally open. Hopefully this will take some of the stress off of the traffic locally south of I-20 and our residential areas.”
The hope among county officials is that SCR 1232 will help alleviate some of the traffic that comes from I-20 and redirects it elsewhere.
This hope is shared by Midland's drivers, who Sanchez said have been waiting for quite some time.
“Midland County has been receiving calls to see if we could have some kind of corridor south of Interstate 20, because really the only corridor they had was Interstate 20," Sanchez said. "So this is definitely going to help out with a lot of the traffic and a lot of the development that has been going on in this area.”
It also comes with a new bridge called Monahan's Draw, something the county had to build to accommodate SCR 1232.
Thanks to the state of Texas, nearly 80% of the road section built over this draw will be reimbursed.
“Part of the project is funded by county infrastructure transportation fund, a grant that we received from TXDOT back in 2020," said Midland County Capital Project Manager Jesse Ferguson. "The rest of the money came from taxes from the county.”
But, while one road is done, there is still work to be done all around the region, something Sanchez is aware of.
“We’re going to continue to work on a lot of the neighborhood roads," Sanchez said. "We are currently working on West County Road 120, where it will be open from Midkiff Road all the way to the new Loop 250. Also West County Road 130. We’re going to continue with a lot of the road projects we’ve got in precinct 3.”