Here’s the Plan for Interstate 20 Expansion between Hallsville and Marshall, Texas

Interstate 20 connects Texas to the East Coast and runs through the heart of our area. We travel the highway quite a bit to get to Dallas or to Shreveport or just to our East Texas towns along the interstate like Canton or Lindale or Hallsville. It's still about four years away but an expansion of Interstate 20 between Hallsville and Marshall seems to be set.

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A recent public meeting has spelled out an expansion for Interstate 20 between Hallsville and Marshall. The expansion will begin at Farm to Market Road 450 and extend for ten miles to State Highway 43.

Along that area, Interstate 20 will be expanded from two lanes either direction to three. There will also be some one way frontage roads included and new entrance and exit ramps.

Why the Expansion?

For one, it's to accommodate future growth in the area. It's estimated that by 2055, 83,227 vehicles will travel that area a day. It also will help with safety. There were a total of 840 crashes between 2015 and 2020 in that area. The crash rates were also 18 percent higher in 2019 and 67 percent higher in 2020 then similar Texas roadways.

When Will This All Begin?

Right now, the plan is in the environmental review process and still has some schematics left to nail down. Final design and plans could be introduced anytime between 2023 and 2026 with the first phase of construction to begin in 2026 with all construction scheduled to be done in 2030. Of course, there are all kinds of things that can delay or speed up this process so don't put those dates in stone.

If you want to see the full plan that was introduced during the public hearing on February 22, go to txdot.gov, enter "I-20 Hallsville to Marshall" in the search bar in the top right corner, click on the first link on the page, enter your name and email address and you can view the entire presentation.