WACO, TX — It's a bumpy road to Central Texas Marketplace.
"It's rough," said Amy Craig.
Amy Craig shops there with her mom at least once a week. She said it's never a smooth ride in.
"You try to slow down or go around them or something to avoid the potholes," Craig said. "It is very annoying."
But relief is on the way for drivers like Craig.
On March 19, the Waco City Council approved a $3.6 million deal to fix pavement, curbs and gutters along three rough roads.
The improvements are set to impact Old Hewitt Road, between Imperial Drive and Highway 84, Bagby Avenue, between New Road and Highway 6, as well as New Road near Franklin Avenue.
Jim Reed is the capital improvement program manager for Waco Public Works. He said the city has heard a lot of complaints about these areas over the last three years.
"These were all three identified as substantial projects to their daily drive to work," Reed said. "So we're finally finding the money that we can move them forward."
Drivers like Craig said the condition of the roads are dangerous and often slow down traffic.
"If you do hit one major, it's not very comfortable," Craig said. "It's just a rough deal."
Reed said the project will start fairly soon. He expects it to be completed in about five months.
"These are valid projects that have problems, that have failure going on," Reed said. "We feel like if we let them go any further, that we will have a lot of our operations out there doing maintenance."
You won't see any patched holes or sealed cracks either. Crews will rip up the roads and start from scratch, laying down smooth pavement that should last up to 20 years.
"They can feel like safe when they're driving down our highway system," Reed said.
"What can you say? Heavenly!" Craig said.
Craig welcomes the construction since it will make things easier for her in the long run.
"Everything flows so much smoother and you can actually get somewhere in a timely manner," Craig said. "And we love to come here, so that really makes it nice."
If you have any problems with the road in front of your home or business, you can report it here. It could be part of the next project funded by the city.
