I-20 passing lanes closed for construction

There may be more traffic than usual for the next few weeks as the passing lanes on I-20 at the Crane Avenue overpass were closed today as construction is completed on a crossover, a Texas Department of Transportation press release said.

The crossover is part of a series of repairs being made to the overpass, which TxDOT Public Information Officer Gene Powell said would take around the next three weeks to complete. Powell added that the lanes will be reopened at night during the construction period.

“We’re spending several hundred dollars a day to open those lanes back up at night, but we feel like it’s the right thing to do because it’s the interstate,” Powell said.

A bridge rail upgrade will also begin at I-20 and East Loop 338 Thursday, Powell said, with perimeter signs set. Powell added the contractor plans to close both eastbound and westbound driving lanes next Thursday, Jan. 11, and there will be various ramp and lane closures as the bridge rails are updated over the next 10 weeks.

Southbound lanes on Loop 250 over I-20 in Midland will also be closed Friday as concrete traffic barriers will be placed. Powell said there will be a detour in place during the construction, and the work should only take one day with traffic back to one lane by the end of the day. Completion of the crossover will be completed and traffic will be switched to the westbound lanes while the eastbound lanes will be used to make repairs to the bridge, Powell said. He added this lane configuration will be in place day and night, and the repairs should take about 10 weeks.