The I-40 Construction Will Never Be Done...At Least It Seems That

I know we've all complained about the amount of construction in Amarillo. However, I swear there's a couple projects that feel like they're never going to be finished.

I-40 and the I-27/I-40 interchange. Basically the lifelines to the city, and they're both under construction...at the same time, with no end in sight.

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Ever since I moved here several months ago, these two projects have been going on and I swear they're not getting anywhere with them. To the naked eye, it just appears they go out at night, drop a few cones down and walk around like they're up to something. Yet nothing changes, no updates...just nothing.

The last update we got was clear back on April 1...my first day in Amarillo. The I-27/I-40 interchange seems to have stayed relatively on time with what they posted in the update. The current closure is the I-40 eastbound to I-27 northbound ramp closure. In that update, it's slated to be opened back up on August 17th, which is when the next closure will come. The entire project is projected to be done by the end of November, just in time for Christmas.

However, the I-40 Bridge project feels like it's got a timeline that is leaving it so wide open, it gives the appearance of "we don't know when they actually want to finish this".

In the April 1 update, it stated the highway would be kicked down to 2 lanes in the area where they're working. They also mentioned they expected it to be closed down for "at least 3 months". Wait...AT LEAST?? I feel like we just got the proverbial middle finger and a shoulder shrug with verbiage like that.

Furthermore, I can't really figure out what it is they're trying to do or achieve there. I feel like it's looked the EXACT same for at least a month, and navigating it is kind of like being inside a game of Mario Kart with the way they have the lanes laid out. That barrier creeps up on you in a hurry. I've nearly hit it 3 times in the last week alone.

I get that construction needs to be done for improvements, and with an ever growing city we need it. Can we please at least get another update to tell us how far along they are at minimum? Give us more hope than "at least 3 months", because right now I feel like it could be "at least 3 years".

And just in case you feel like reading the full update from April 1, here it is.

Things That Are Perfectly Legal but Feels Illegal While Doing It

Check Out The Original Names For These Amarillo Streets

It's hard to imagine these well-known Amarillo streets as any other name. Try to imagine giving directions to someone while using their original names. Gets tricky, doesn't it?

The new names (that we currently know them by) came mostly from associates of Henry Luckett, who drew the first map of the area. When this took place exactly, records do not show, but the street name revamp is covered extensively in 'Old Town Amarillo' by Judge John Crudgington, published in the Plains Historical Review in 1957.