Construction started Wednesday on a $364 million project to add overpasses and frontage roads to Highway 77 to upgrade it to an interstate.

A groundbreaking for the project was held about 10 miles north of Raymondville.

“This will basically expand our interstate system here in the Rio Grande Valley to Corpus Christi, Texarkana and beyond,” Texas Department of Transportation Pharr District Engineer Pete Alvarez said.

TxDOT says there are currently no detours or changes to the route planned. The area is now a construction zone, so drivers will need to slow down and keep an eye out for workers. 

The project also includes elevating parts of the highway that are in low-lying areas, making it less likely to flood

Highway 77 is not an evacuation route, but it's one of only two ways north out of the Rio Grande Valley. 

The project will be done in two phases, and is expected to take three to four years to complete.

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