Abilene Reporter-News, Texas, Big Country Journal column
By Ronald W. Erdrich, Abilene Reporter-News, Texas | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
But if you're heading to
Specifically, the intersection of
"You should see Friday afternoons in football season when
"One year, I got on top of the Dr Pepper plant with my camera and a long lens and shot back as far as I could see," Wright said. "Over the hill toward
How far is that? It's about half the length of town, or at least a mile.
"We first took a delegation to
The wheels of government grind slowly, but after studies, traffic counts and construction, the first half of a relief route, called the
Construction began in January on the second half, which will take the loop from
The legacy of Big Country bypasses, at least where area economies are concerned, has been debatable.
In a
"The ones who are going to shop
But 25 years later, many of the businesses mentioned in the story no longer are around. Whether it's because of the bypass or other reasons is the big question. But when
But although the economies of towns such as
At the
"I walk down, I don't dare try to park out here because you can't get back on the road," Wade said. "It's the same way in front of my office and I'm up a block."
He said 1990 was the year traffic began getting worse.
"Luckily, in 2001 they finished the section (of U.S. 67/377) between
"It was just like
Wade said he witnessed several wrecks from his office.
"And one of them was my son," he recalled, adding that his offspring was unharmed. "It was after a driver said, 'C'mon, it's OK,' and then the driver who said that hit him."
"I think it may cause some problems, of course. Hopefully, it will bring some advantages as well," Hightower said. "I just think we need to do a good job of inviting people to come downtown."
But like in
From what
"If that's true, then it's really not going to be of great benefit, in my opinion, to the town," he said.
He's the owner of Bradberry's Best, a feed store located at the south end of
"As far as businesses springing up around the route, it is a controlled-access highway," said
At the points where the loop crosses
"If you don't have exits, then it's just like having a convenience store on the sideline at
It's worrisome for his business because many of the hunters in the vehicles that Wright could see stretched out toward the
"We aim at those deer hunters," Bradberry said. "We are an ideal location to travel for about an hour, stop, go to the restroom and get them a cup of coffee."
Bradberry said he has opposed the idea of the loop from the beginning, and took his own group of concerned residents to
"They want the little town to be a quiet, Saturday evening
It's water under the bridge now, though. The die has been cast, and
"It's happening," Bradberry said, "so whatever is inevitable might as well be enjoyable."
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