TEMPLE, Texas (KXXV) — Midway Drive is no stranger to potholes and uneven pavement, but the City of Temple is working on a plan to fully reconstruct the road.
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Driving down Midway Drive is a bumpy ride, and neighbors who spoke with 25 News say they are used to the dips and digs, but the city is planning a fix.
"The road is just a lot of uneven bumps and stuff that just seems like it should have been cleaned up a long time ago, and then it takes forever for it to, uh, get attention from the city to want to do anything about it and cause damage to your vehicles if you're not paying attention," Ricky Lester, a Temple resident said.
The City of Temple said it is working on a plan to rebuild the street.
“We see a lot of cracks, a lot of potholes in that area, and that's due to the soils underneath. So, um, Midway Drive has to be a full reconstruction of the roadway. What that means is that we have to tear it all out and build it from scratch, um, and hopefully that will make it a better and safer roadway for our residents,” Nohely Mackowaik, with the City of Temple, said.
The details of the multi-year project are still being worked out, but the City tells 25 News that with the soil and fault line underneath the road, it will be an extensive process.
"The soil underneath is not great. There's a lot of movement under the soil with the weather conditions when it's hot outside, when it's cold outside, when it rains, and that causes cracking, um, on the pavement. So hopefully, once this reconstruction is complete, we will have a brand new roadway that will last 25+ years,” Mackowaik said.
Neighbors told 25 News they understand this might take more time - they just want the job done right.
"That's kind of what we expect. We pay taxes. They should keep the roads maintained and, and fix any issues that they find,” Jon Barfoot said.
“Don't just do a patch job and hope that that holds. Just do it right. If it means it takes longer to do it, strip it all the way down and build it all back up the correct way,” Lester said.
There is no set date for when the plan can be expected to start, but the design for the plan is 30% complete and will have to be approved by the city council first.
