Turning Interstate 27 into a reality, here’s everything you need to know:

MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- A future interstate highway that has been the talk of the Basin for several years is slowly becoming a reality for the Midland and Odessa area.

In 2020 a feasibility study was done by the Ports-to-Plains Corridor Advisory Committee, an organization of elected city officials and leaders who wanted to improve interstates in Texas.

The tests, based on the Ports-to-Plain Committee, showed that by building an interstate, a greater demand for gas stations, truck stops, restaurants, lodging, and other businesses serving passenger and commercial travelers would occur and the road itself would provide opportunities for expansion, and development.

Here’s a look at how the new interstate came to be, and what will happen first in order to turn the idea into reality:

According to the President of the Midland Odessa Transportation Alliance (MOTRAN) James Beauchamp, the Ports-to-Plains alliance originally wanted to put Midland and Odessa on an ancillary, a three-number interstate, where it wouldn’t have been a part of the primary I-27 route plan, however, MOTRAN and city officials saw this as a huge opportunity for the local area to be apart of the new route that is predicted to result in a significant amount of economic growth and safety. MOTRAN then worked with Senator Ted Cruz’s office to include Midland/Odessa among the interstate’s path.

After developing a plan and getting approval through the legislative process, the new interstate, also known as Interstate-27 (I-27), is set to one day be a 963-mile-long corridor spanning through 26 Texas counties, including Midland.

The interstate, specifically the one planned for the local Midland/Odessa area for I-27 (or I-14) will consist of four lanes divided (2 in each direction), with access roads that will travel from Sterling City, through Midland/Odessa, and to Lamesa.

The picture above represents the typical interstate section that is planned.

According to the Ports-to-Plains fact sheets from feasibility studies, the nation’s primary source for energy independence was planned to be located along the designated corridor, meaning that connectivity for trade will grow rapidly in all areas along the future interstate, but more specifically the Midland and Odessa area.

MOTRAN President, James Beauchamp said that the Midland and Odessa area is an “energy epicenter” and “together they form a network, that in essence connects over 85 percent of our state’s population, over 90 percent of the workforce- which is really important for us out here- and then over 95 percent of our state’s gross domestic product.”

Although economic growth was a large factor in Midland/Odessa joining the route for the future I-27 interstate, the reasons mainly surrounded driver safety and the concerns about traffic on the current highways and roads in the local area. Beauchamp said that the roads for the Midland and Odessa area were supposed to be built as a four-lane divided.

“Those roads are part of the trunk system, they’re part of this corridor, they were always supposed to be built as four-lane divided, but back in the day the state of Texas was just not really interested in investing in the Permian basin,” Beauchamp said.

The new interstate will help decrease the risks of driving on the roads and lower the number of crashes that occur each year, according to MOTRAN.

“It is going to be important, and that’s partially important for our area because we see a lot of really, heavy, oversized, overweight traffic, with sometimes hazardous cargo, that needs a good route there to keep it out of our more urbanized area,” Beauchamp said.

Traffic congestion is a big issue in the local area, and according to Midland Mayor Lori Blong, this is because the Midland and Odessa areas have “expanded and grown so rapidly over the last several years” and that is why “we have so many traffic accidents, that come through our region,” she said.

The Texas Department of Public Safety website states that traffic congestion leads to more problems than just traffic jams, and affects every aspect of our lives, including the well-being and the lives of drivers.

According to a new study, Ector County was among 12 Texas counties to make the list of the top 50 most dangerous counties for drivers across the United States. Beauchamp stated that annual crash numbers are high and are expected to be even higher in the future.

“In February (2024)  there was a good 10 to 12 days where we had a fatality a day, so I think you’ll see those numbers go up pretty significantly. I would anticipate that number is probably gonna be around 9000, (Annual crashes 2024) but we’ll have to see,” Beauchamp stated.

The studies done by the Ports-to-Plains corridor showed that building the new I-27 route would eliminate head-on collisions and that the number of fatalities would be cut by roughly 40 percent, close to half.

A project as big and complex as this has raised concerns regarding construction and traffic among local citizens, and according to social media discussions, this new interstate project sparks worry in some people, specifically the traffic. Beauchamp said that although there are both pros and cons to the construction process, the pros outweigh them.

“It is an inconvenience, but ultimately you’re gonna be a lot safer in the end, and so you’ll just have to weigh if a little bit of inconvenience now is worth a long period of safety, and from our perspective it is,” he said.

The process of building an interstate road takes time and according to MOTRAN, TXDOT, and the Ports-to-Plains Committee, there is no specific timeline or estimation for the project yet.

“I think that’s one of the things people have a hard time grappling with, is the idea that ‘ok well we passed the designation, so when are the signs gonna go up?’” Beauchamp said.

Although the construction process has no set timeline, officials stated that the area’s first steps in the process include testing, planning, developing, and eventually starting the project while incremental improvements are made along the way.

“So in the very short term- we’ll see some improvements, it won’t be slapping up an interstate sign out there, but it’ll be making improvements that’ll make those roads a lot safer, it’ll make traffic move better, and that’s important out here- because we’ve seen an enormous increase in travel times over the last five and six years, so again safer, more efficient and it allows us to start planning and acquiring that right away and the utility adjustments we need for future improvements as we go forward,” Beauchamp.

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