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Vestiges of the former cloverleaf at US 69 and Texas 73 are fading away as construction continues on the Texas Department of Transportation’s turbine exchange.

The project’s footprint is large and includes road closures at some highway exits, concrete barriers along sections of the roadway, detours and more.

TxDOT Beaumont District Engineer Martin Gonzalez said the $71.6 million project has an estimated completion date in the spring of 2027. 

The final configuration — which looks like a turbine, is an innovative design and was created with safety in mind.

“We’ve have a lot of crashes in that interchange for the longest time,” Gonzalez said. “This is going to allow for more efficient movement at the direct connects, and then the through movements as well.”

TxDOT is also working on widening south of US 69 near 39th Street as part of this project, he said.
Gonzalez was the speaker at the recent Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce luncheon updating the crowd on the numerous TxDOT projects in the Beaumont District. 

The Beaumont District is comprised of eight counties; Jefferson, Orange, Hardin, Liberty, Newton, Chambers, Jasper and Tyler. His focus was on Jefferson and Orange counties.

Emcee Stephen Hemelt, director of commutations at HBNeild, asked Gonzalez to elaborate on what Port Arthur and the greater Southeast Texas community will be getting with the new infrastructure and improvements. 

The turbine, once completed, will allow forgetter movement of traffic, reduce or eliminate the conflict there is now, he said. 

“If you look at all of the wrecks we have it’s like you almost have to completely stop before you merge and that’s how it happens,” he said. “We want to make sure when you have the direct connection they’re going to free flow into their lane of travel and be able to safely merge.”

Being able to merge safely was the biggest challenge, he said, but the configuration will allow motorists a chance to get up to speed and be able to merge safely.

The Port Arthur Interchange at US 69 and Texas 73 is unique and will be only the second of its kind in the State of Texas. The other is located in Amarillo, officials said.

Rainbow Bridge

The historic Rainbow Bridge which spans the Neches River and Connects Bridge City to Port Arthur will undergo maintenance to the tune of $11 million.

The bridge was constructed in 1938. Maintenance will require some painting of metal components and repairs of some steel members.

Gonzalez said there would be intelligent, or smart work zones.

The intelligent work zones will warn drivers of any backups so they can seek alternate routes. 

There will be cameras at the location and in the event of a crash they will be able to respond quickly and report to the correct law enforcement agency and first responders. 

The project entails moving all traffic from the Rainbow side to the Veterans Memorial Bridge meaning there will be two lanes in each direction. 

“We’re trying a lot of innovative technologies here that have never been used in the Beaumont district, so we’re very excited about that. And safety is our top priority,” he added.

In the event of an emergency or other reasons there is the ability to make adjustments and open the Rainbow Bridge. 

Officials were waiting on the delivery of all of the materials, some of which are expected in early December. Because of the holidays, TxDOT felt it would be better to start the project in the new year. 

 “So starting January is when we’re planning on switching everybody over to Veterans, because, again, we want to be respectful of the holidays,” he said.

The project is expected to be completed by the fall of 2026.

Contact info

Motorists can report potholes or other issues on TxDOT roadways by calling the maintenance offices. For Port Arthur, call 409-722-4696, for Beaumont call 409-924-6522 and for Orange, call 409-883-3476.

For road conditions, visit DriveTexas.org

You can also find information on Social media:

Facebook @TxDOTBeaumontTX

X, formerly Twitter @TxDOTBeaumont

Instagram @TxDOTBeaumont

NextDoor at TxDOT NextDoor page