UPDATE: Rep. Pickett Working With TxDOT To Reopen Montana Lanes
El Paso Rep.Joe Pickett is working with the Texas Department of Transportation to reopen the eastbound and westbound lanes of Montana Avenue between Lee Trevino Drive and Joe Battle Boulevard that were recently blocked off with barrels so they can be made back into shoulders.
ABC-7 reported last week that TxDOT was forced to close the outside lanes between Lee Trevino and Joe Battle after the federal government told the transportation office in El Paso it didn’t submit the proper paperwork showing the impact the additional lanes would have on air quality.
You can read last week’s story for background here.
Pickett told ABC-7 over the phone, while on the House floor in Austin, when he found out that TxDOT was going to paint the lanes into shoulders, he spoke to the main TxDOT office in the state capital to hold off the project to see if there was a way to keep the lanes open.
Pickett said the biggest holdup is convincing the Federal Highway Administration that the additional lanes aren’t adding pollution, especially because Montana gets very congested during the morning and evening rush hour. Pickett said he realized those lanes were needed when he witnessed drivers making their own lanes shortly after the repaving project on Montana was complete and there were no painted lines on the road.
“I know it’s frustrating to the driving public,” Pickett said. “We really tried something that sounded common sense, logical.”
The state representative said because the local Metropolitan Planning Organization needs to draw up the plans for the Federal Highway Administration, it could be awhile before those barrels disappear from Montana.
“It could (take months), yes, it could,” Pickett said. “It’s a very technical process. It’s only done by a very few, skilled persons. It’s a cumbersome project.”
Pickett said he is meeting with the FHA sometime this week and hopes to get a better projection then.
Stay with ABC-7 and kvia.com for more on this developing story.
