I-27 Relief Route Update Presented to Tom Green County Commissioners

SAN ANGELO, TX — Tom Green County commissioners received an update Tuesday on a proposed 11-mile relief route that would connect U.S. Highways 87 and 67 north of San Angelo. 

The San Angelo North Relief Route would form part of the larger Ports-to-Plains project and the proposed Interstate 27 system. The corridor is designed to improve transportation between Mexico, West Texas and communities north through the Texas Panhandle. 

Construction is not expected to begin for several years. Right-of-way acquisition is projected to start in about four years, with construction potentially beginning a couple of years later, officials said. 

Commissioners heard a presentation from the president and executive vice president of operations for the Ports-to-Plains Alliance, a multistate organization that includes former San Angelo Mayor Brenda Gunter and current Mayor Tom Thompson. 

Tom Green County Judge Lane Carter said federal transportation funding has historically focused more heavily on construction than on advance planning. He said recent congressional allocations have given communities more opportunities to prepare for future projects.

The proposed relief route would allow local and state officials to plan for continued growth while preparing San Angelo to become part of the future I-27 corridor.