US 59 widening project in Cleveland to be finished by year’s end

The US 59/I-69 widening project in the Cleveland area is expected to wrap up this year. Dry weather conditions have allowed the contractor to finish the project ahead of schedule, according to Sarah Dupre, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Transportation’s Beaumont District.

Once complete, US 59’s designation will change from a state highway to an interstate and be known as I-69. The project came at a cost of $102 million and work began in May 2019 by James Construction Group.

“The project is an important component to the Texas highway system. That section of US 59 will be safer for motorists and will help with congestion that has been brought on by population growth and a growing economy,” said Dupre.

The 4.5-mile project is to widen the north and southbound lanes of travel from two lanes in either direction to three lanes. There will also be frontage roads on either side. The project begins at the Liberty-Montgomery county line south of Cleveland and ends at the south end of SL 573 in Cleveland.

Afterward, the bridge over the East Fork of the San Jacinto River on the northbound lanes will become a frontage road bridge. Now scoured and uneven, it will be resurfaced once traffic is allowed on the main lanes.

Motorists who travel this roadway will be relieved to know that once the entire construction project is completed in the near future, there will be an easier way to access the SH 105 bypass that connects Conroe to Beaumont. When the bypass opened for traffic in May 2011, one of the biggest complaints was that there was no easy way for northbound traffic on US 59 to access the bypass. A turnaround was created but that meant traffic had to merge into and cross southbound lanes of traffic and then turn on the SH 105 bypass.

“US 59 will go over the SH 105 bypass after this project is completely finished, which will allow exit ramps onto the bypass,” Dupre said.

TxDOT has two other big road projects happening in Liberty County in the coming years. Construction of the FM 1413 overpass on US 90 is underway, though the project was delayed as a result of utility issues that required some redesign by engineers.

“Right now, the FM 1413 overpass is scheduled to be completed by Spring 2025,” Dupre said.

The US 90 railroad overpass in Dayton is expected to go out for bids in May 2024. Dupre could not provide a timeline for when that project is expected to be finished.