Road widening projects in Mission
TAYLOR ROAD
Phase one of the long process to expand Taylor Road from two lanes to five lanes is near completion. At the Feb. 26 Mission City Council workshop, a representative from the managing firm SAM-Construction Services reported they are about 86% complete with the first part of the Taylor Road project. 
Despite being about two months behind schedule due to weather conditions and issues with relocating utilities, Professional Engineer Sebastian Salinas said they anticipate substantial completion around April 25.
Phase one of the project runs from Expressway 83 to Business 83. Salinas said the pending items include boring operations and widening the roadway at two Taylor Road intersections — Business 83 and the frontage road.
Phase two, which runs from Business 83 to Mile 2, cannot begin until phase one is complete. Assistant City Manager J.P. Terrazas said the city has acquired 60 of 71 parcels for the second portion of the project, seven of which are in condemnation. He anticipates going out for construction bids in the fall of this year.
Although phase one of the project lasted about 15 months, the contractor estimates phase two construction will take more time because it is a longer stretch of road. In a 2022 Progress Times interview, Terrazas said locals should expect road work until at least December 2025.
“There’s progress here in the city of Mission, but with that comes some sacrifice,” Terrazas said. “It took some sacrifice to see all this progress. The city of Mission is growing. The mayor and council have a lot of projects in mind that are coming to fruition now. So this is what we’re getting at, and we’re planning to have more projects in the future.”
The City of Mission has been working on the Taylor Road project since 2014 when it first surveyed residents about the expansion. Although city staff initially presented a plan to extend the project to Mile 4, Palmhurst residents expressed opposition and the city settled on shortening it to Mile 2 Road.
The Taylor Road project is funded through a mix of federal monies and Mission’s general fund. Phase one construction costs about $6.2 million, but the city anticipates phase two will cost twice as much. However, the federal government will reimburse Mission for 98% of construction. The remaining 2% will come out of Mission’s general fund.
INSPIRATION ROAD
The Inspiration and Military Parkway road widening project spans a perpendicular 4.5-mile stretch of roadway from Expressway 83 to Conway Avenue. The plan is to expand from two lanes to four to accommodate Mission’s growth and increase in traffic.
The city completed the environmental assessment stage of the project and has moved on to acquiring the properties from the owners in the affected area, which includes about 47 parcels, 24 easements and one relocation of a business. Once the city obtains the right-of-ways, they can begin the construction phase. 
Initially, Assistant City Manager J.P. Terrazas anticipated the acquisitions would take about two years. However, at the Feb. 26 Mission City Council workshop, he reported that they are ahead of schedule.
“This project is anticipated to be let in 2027, but we feel confident that we can get the right-of-way within a year. So we want to accelerate this project for fiscal year 2026,” Terrazas said. “So we should be a year ahead of schedule on the design and acquiring the right-of-way.”
Mission allocated about $25 million in federal funding seven years ago when they first began the process for the Inspiration Road project. However, an updated engineering estimate calculates the new cost to be about $32 million, forcing the city to go back to the drawing board to cut costs and fight for more money from the Metropolitan Planning Organization.
