WESLACO - After more than 3 years of planning, a construction project for roadway expansion and development is underway in Weslaco on Westgate road between Mile 9 North and Mile 11 North.

It is part of a joint project between the city and Hidalgo County Precinct One.

“It’s roughly two miles. It’s just over two miles. We extended over a little past 11 so that we could have some turning and some things to transition back to two lanes,” Hidalgo County Pct. 1 Commissioner, David Fuentes said.

Eventually the expansion will extend to Texas 107 near the Elsa area.

“We’re going to add two miles of roadway, we’re going to expand the number of lanes, we’re going to add mobility for foot traffic and we’re also going to be adding drainage to this area,” he explained.

In case of emergencies the project will also include new and improved drainage installation to decrease the risk of future severe flood damages.

“We’re actually going to have curb and gutter. We will have water that slopes towards the curb and it flows towards gutters and those gutters will actually connect to new ditch acquisitions,” Commissioner Fuentes said.

The project will cost $15 million to complete.

The Texas Department of Transportation funded $12 million, The Hidalgo County Precinct One and the city of Weslaco funded $3 million.

The project has been underway since 2017 and it is estimated to be completed by fall 2021.