A change in the Texas Department of Transportation’s plans for State Highway 68, a four-lane highway that would run for 22 miles and would cost $1.1 billion, has upset some Edinburg residents.
The residents, who say the highway project will affect construction of their homes, spoke out during the Nov. 5 Edinburg City Council meeting.
Several residents voiced their concerns about the direction the project has been heading due to changes that TxDOT has made to the plan without notifying the residents or city officials.
“Edinburg officials were not involved in discussions about the proposed realignment until recently, when it was revealed that TxDOT is considering shifting SH 68 east of the airport and connecting it to I-69C north of FM 490—marking a major departure from the initial route,” Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. was quoted as saying in an Oct. 31 TV news report.
In a virtual public meeting held Feb. 14, 2023, TxDOT Public Information Officer Ray Pedraza said the department “has determined that SH 68 is needed to add additional travel capacity because there are limited north‐south roadways in the area and population is projected to increase substantially in the future.”
Pedraza said the highway will be constructed in three phases and will be funded by a combination of state and federal funds.
On Wednesday, The Rider called Pedraza to request an interview for more information about the project and the residents’ concerns. Pedraza told the newspaper all questions related to SH 68 may be sent to TxDOT Media Relations.
However, The Rider does not release questions in advance of an interview and again requested an interview with Pedraza. As of press time Friday, he had not responded.
Some residents at the city meeting said the shift would bring them problems because the highway would be built through the middle of their property.
Roel and Silvia Garcia said they had just completed their home project when they got the news about the change.
The couple said they adjusted the site of their construction “to avoid any situations [with] TxDOT.”
“And as soon as we finished our project, TxDOT notified us … ‘Hey, we are going to move the highway to the middle of your property,’” Roel Garcia said. “So, it is dividing our area. It’s got us on standby. We can’t do nothing because we haven’t had an answer about what is going to happen.”
Silvia Garcia said the current plans call for their home to be destroyed.
“We have invested time and money in this land to make it our dream family ranch,” she said. “When we purchased our land back in 2021, neither the realtor nor the title company ever mentioned such a project about the property. We got our construction permit in 2022 and they also never mentioned anything about the future project.
“We decided to construct our home back 1800 feet from FM 490 to avoid having the proposed highway too close to our home. After completing our home construction, we got a letter from TxDOT about the reroute [of] State Highway 68 through our property, dividing it in half and destroying our home.”
Edinburg resident Joe Veil said the reroute would also divide his property in half.
“The problem is that they haven’t decided what to do, so that creates a problem for me because before they changed the route, I was dealing with two companies from Spain to put a solar panel farm there,” Veil said. “But that changed when the new route came out, so they dropped out.”
Fern McClaugherty, a member of the Objective Watchers of the Legal System, said she has watched people beg TxDOT to build roads another way.
“TxDOT doesn’t give a tinker’s damn about anybody,” McClaugherty said during the city’s open discussion on the project.
The city council took no action on the item.
“We need to sit down and see what are the facts, what is going on, what is the best for our community,” Council Member Place 4 David White said.
