By Scott Harvey
Hopkins County – Traffic seems to be running smoothly since the extension of Highway 11 south of Sulphur Springs opened two weeks ago.
The portion of highway, which allows motorists to detour around the city rather than go through downtown, saves roughly 10 minutes of travel time each way.
Kenneth Hoon, of Winnsboro, makes the drive to Commerce three times a week for classes at the university. For him, it's more a matter of improved safety.
"When you're in clos proximity to other vehicles in downtown areas, lanes are norrower, obviously, and you're not as safe," says Hoon. "And it's stop and go, stop and go, and going through the school zone which also makes it dangerous for the children at that school."
The extension runs between the intersection of State Highway 154 and SH 11 to SH 19. Work on the project began in June 2008 with the help of funds from TxDot, Sulphur Springs and Hopkins County.
If there's a downside, it's that the city has to now maintain the old highway 11 section that runs through town. But City Manager Marc Maxwell feels the new bypass will relieve the traffic burden on the Broadway Street Overpass.
"There's a lot of traffic going to the south end of town with Wal-Mart, Traffic Supply and Lowes all there in the same location," Maxwell said. "So now there's two routes and I expect it will offer some relief for the Broadway Street Overpass."
Crews are expected to finalize any small remaining projects along the highway by the end of the week.