Progress Continues on State Highway 349 Improvements

The Texas Department of Transportation continued their work this past year on the planning and environmental review of the expansion of SH 349 to a four-lane, divided roadway.

The segment of SH 349 targeted for expansion stretches from the SH 349 Relief Route in Midland to the planned SH 349 Connection to the US 87 Relief Route in Lamesa.

The effort was a joint undertaking of the Odessa and Lubbock TXDOT Districts. In addition to completing the planning process for SH 349, the Lubbock District also held final public hearings for the initial planning of the SH 349 Connector and the US 87 Relief Route in Lamesa.

These improvements are part of the recommendations from the Lubbock to I-10 Study conducted by TXDOT in 1997. A report by Dr. Ray Perryman also showed a tremendous benefit of $4.6 billion in economic impact for the region by providing a four-lane, divided highway from Amarillo through Lubbock to the Midland-Odessa area.