Work on a project to revitalize a portion of Upland Avenue in southwest Lubbock officially started Thursday morning.
Officials with the city of Lubbock and the Texas Department of Transportation broke ground Thursday on a $19 million expansion of Upland Avenue from 66th Street to 88th Street for the Celebration Christian Center. The project will widen Upland from its current two asphalt lanes to five concrete lanes, with the goal of reducing congestion on the busy southwest arterial to Lubbock.
“We need it. We’re going through a big growth spurt and the city, the county and TxDOT are all working together in our community to respond to traffic demand where we can, to try to get ahead of the need,” said Mayor Tray Payne . said in his remarks.
Councilwoman Jennifer Wilson, who represents District 5, which includes this stretch of road, echoed Payne’s statements.
“Traffic in this area has probably doubled or even tripled in the last five years,” Wilson said. “The traffic coming through Upland is just tremendous.”
Wilson said she expects the project to be completed by August 2025, barring any delays. She asked for patience from people who live and work in the area.
“There’s almost no way to close those roads without moving traffic elsewhere,” Wilson said. “So we’ll build those new lanes first and divert traffic to the west, then we’ll start building on the east side and connecting them together.”
She said Lubbock residents can also expect progress on other parts of Upland Avenue in the future.
“This is just the beginning for Upland,” she said. “We also passed multiple sections of our bond package, so we will hopefully see the widening of Upland all the way from the northern city limits to the southern city limits.”
This article originally appeared in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: City of Lubbock breaks ground on Upland Avenue widening project
