TDOT Highway 52 Project In Celina In Preliminary Engineer Phase

TDOT’s Highway 52 expansion in Celina is in its preliminary engineering phase.

Region 2 Assistant Chief Joe Deering said that the project will extend from the south of the central business district towards West Lake Avenue where it will tie back into the existing Highway 52. He said that the hope is to create a safer, less congested route through the city.

“The way state route 52 goes through the central business district, there are some tight turns through that area that semi-trucks have some trouble making,” Deering said. “So the purpose of this is basically to have a truck route around the central business district to divert that traffic.”

Deering said that the potential cost of construction sits at some $16 million. He said that once the preliminary engineering phase is complete, they move into right-of-way acquisition.

Deering said that this project was first identified in a Transportation Investment Report in 2019. He said that they plan on hosting a design meeting to receive public input, including wants and concerns. At a recent Clay County Board of Education meeting, some board members voiced concerns about the path of the project going through school property.

“They’re not affecting the buildings of the school but the athletic fields around behind the school,” CE Manager Robert Rodgers said. “There’s an existing road behind there, and as we widen out and put a good should on it just inches beside it, we’re going to be getting to the athletic fields behind the school. This is something we’ve been in contact with the county about so far.”