LUFKIN – Motorists heading east on Loop 287 from the US 59 South Project should use caution when using the eastbound frontage road. Today, the contractor, Zachry Construction, reduced the roadway to one lane as work on the new eastbound frontage road gets underway.

According to the Texas Department of Transportation, eastbound traffic is reduced to one lane from US 59 at the Loop to just past Tulane Drive. Motorists should heed the traffic control devices now in place as wells as additional barriers that will be set up Thursday, June 26. The frontage road will remain at one lane until further notice.

Meanwhile, crews continue to work on the southbound and northbound frontage roads and the widening of the Whitehouse/Daniel McCall Drive underpass. Motorists are urged to use caution when traveling through the construction zone and to obey all posted traffic control devices. TxDOT encourages motorists to allow extra time to reach their destinations and to take alternate routes using the posted detour signs when possible. Remember, traffic fines double when workers are present. Designed to address mobility and safety concerns along US 59 south of Loop 287, this project is scheduled to take 38 months to complete at a cost of more than $32 million.

For more information, call Kathi White, public information officer, at (936) 633-4395 or David Collmorgen, Lufkin area engineer, at (936) 633-4331. Information about TxDOT is also available through the department’s website at www.txdot.gov.