I-69 conversion project progressing bit by bit
BROWNSVILLE -- December will mark four years since the first I-69 signs went up on U.S. 77 — on a 6.2-mile stretch of the highway between the I-37 terminus at Corpus Christi and State Highway 44 at Robstown.
It was an initial step toward the larger goal of converting U.S. 77 to interstate all the way from Brownsville to I-37. The journey isn’t over by a long shot, and no one is sure how long it will take, though officials insist that the $600 million to $800 million project is moving forward.
Until it’s done, the Rio Grande Valley will retain its status as the largest metropolitan area of the United States not connected to the rest of the country via interstate.
In May 2013, Victor Mendez, head of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), announced the big news that his agency had authorized attaching the “I-69E” designation to the roughly 50-mile stretch of U.S. 77 between Brownsville and Raymondville.
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