As part of its reconstruction project for Interstate 10 in the City of Orange, the Texas Department of Transportation will close State Highway 87 which is also 16th Street in Orange for two nights March 13 and March 14. The closure of 16th Street will be Tuesday and Wednesday nights from 7:00 PM to 6:00 AM. The reason for the closure is to demolish the existing lanes of westbound I-10.
Detours will be used for both nights. Motorists going north on 16th Street will turn on the eastbound frontage road and use Simmons Drive to turn onto the westbound frontage road to return to 16th Street. Traffic traveling south on 16th Street will turn on the westbound frontage road and use the Adams Bayou turnaround to come back to 16th Street on the eastbound frontage road.
TxDOT has already closed the exits for State Highway 87 or 16th Street in Orange. Because of the proximity of railroad tracks to 16th Street the frontage roads of Interstate 10 for 16th Street have been somewhat two-way for decades. That is changing.
The westbound off-ramp of the interstate for 16th Street is closed. This also means that motorists wanting to turn left from Meeks Drive onto the lanes exiting from the interstate will no longer be able to do so. Motorist wanting access to 16th Street from Meeks Drive will now need to use alternative streets like Allie Payne, Clark, or Beverly to Sikes.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
On the eastbound side of the interstate the lanes that were used as an on-ramp for I-10 heading to Louisiana have been closed as well. Motorists in Orange wanting to travel the interstate to Louisiana will now have to use the on-ramps from the frontage road either in front of the Horseman’s Store or by the gas station on the frontage road at 23rd Street.
Future construction will see TxDOT creating a new turnaround for the frontage roads under Interstate 10 in front of the Hampton Inn in Orange. The closures of the off-ramps will allow for U-Turn lanes to be created under the freeway. These lanes will be used by traffic wanting to travel from one frontage road to the other without having to go through two traffic lights.
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