BOCA CHICA, Texas - The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is proposing improvements to approximately 14 miles of State Highway (SH 4) from FM 1419 (Oklahoma Avenue) to LBJ Boulevard in Cameron County, Texas.
Because it is the only highway in and out of its rocket launching facility at Starbase, SpaceX has been urging TxDOT to expand the highway for past few years.
The project would widen SH 4 (from 2,700 feet east of FM 1419/Oklahoma Avenue to Joanna Street) from a 2-lane roadway to a 4-lane divided roadway with two, 12-foot concrete travel lanes, 8-foot shoulders in each direction, and varying 4 to 12-foot flush paved median. All work is proposed within the existing 100 to 200-foot right-of-way.
Proposed improvements would also include an 8-foot bike path with 4-foot grass separation on the south side of SH 4 for approximately 3.75 miles from Quicksilver Avenue to LBJ Boulevard, including a one mile stretch past the road widening section to connect to a planned bike path.
The purpose of the project is to improve safety, increase traffic capacity and address roadway deficiencies. TxDOT notes that SH4 has higher crash rates compared to state average for similar roadway types. The current road is inadequate to meet traffic volumes, the agency states, and the current pavement is failing.
Environmental clearance is expected in the summer of 2025 and construction could begin in the winter of 2026. The estimated construction cost is $178.9 million.
During almost every public presentation she gives, Kathryn Lueders, general manager of SpaceX’s Starbase, stresses the need to widen State Highway 4.
Speaking at a Border Trade Advisory Committee meeting held at the Brownsville Events Center last April, Lueders said:
“We have over 2,100 personnel go down Highway 4 every day, plus over 500 contractors that are helping support (SpaceX). We have construction in our village area, we have construction in the Star factory area. We’re building another megabank and we’re building a second pad. So, all of that needs people and material and commodities to support all these activities.”
Lueders said there is no other way in or out of SpaceX – just SH 4. Asked by IBC Bank Executive Vice President Gerald ‘Gerry’ Schwebel whether SpaceX brings anything into its facility by rail, Lueders said it does get material delivered by sea into the Port of Brownsville but it is then put on trucks.
“Right now we’re in the process of… everything that is going that is huge, water, gas, everything else, is going down Highway 4,” Lueders said. “We are working on setting up and working with the Public Utility Commission here to be working on a water pipeline. But, we’re also getting our utilities in place for us to be able to minimize some of that traffic. But, Highway 4 is still our major artery for our materials coming in and out.”
TxDOT wants public input on the State Highway 4 expansion project. The agency will be conducting an online virtual public meeting on the proposed project with an in-person option. The virtual meeting will consist of a pre-recorded video presentation and will include both audio and visual components.
The presentation will be posted online by Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at 5 p.m. and will remain online until Friday, April 11, 2025, 11:59 p.m. To view the virtual public meeting, go to the following web address at the date and time indicated above: www.txdot.gov, keyword "SH 4 (Boca Chica Blvd).”
If you do not have internet access, you may call Andres Espinoza, P.E., Project Manager at 956-399-5102 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, to ask questions. Information on how to access project materials during the project development process is provided below.
Additionally, TxDOT is providing an in-person option for individuals who would like to participate in person instead of online. The in-person option will be held in an open house format. In-person attendees will be able to view the same presentation delivered in the online public meeting which will be playing on a screen, review hard copies of project materials, ask questions of TxDOT staff and/or consultants, and leave written comments.
The in-person option will be held on Thursday, March 27, 2025, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Senator Eddie A. Lucio Jr. Middle School Cafeteria, 300 N. Vermillion Ave, Brownsville, Texas 78521.
The virtual public meeting and in-person option will be conducted in English and Spanish. If an attendee needs an interpreter or document translator because English is not their primary language or because they have difficulty communicating effectively in English, TxDOT will be provide one.
If a participant has a disability and needs assistance, special arrangements can be made to accommodate most needs, TxDOT said.
“If you need interpretation or translation services or you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation to attend and participate in the virtual public meeting or in-person option, please contact Norma Robledo, TxDOT Pharr District Office, at (956) 702-6161 no later than 4 p.m. CT, March 21, 2025. Please be aware that advance notice is required as some services and accommodations may require time for the Texas Department of Transportation to arrange.”
Written comments from the public regarding the proposed project are requested and may be submitted by mail to the TxDOT Pharr District Office ATTN: Nolan Nicolas, 600 W. Interstate 2, Pharr, TX 78577. Written comments may also be submitted by email to nolan.nicolas@txdot.gov. Verbal comments may be provided by leaving a voice mail at 1-800-657-6711. All comments must be received on or before Friday, April 11, 2025. Responses to comments received will be available online at www.txdot.gov, keyword "SH 4 (Boca Chica Blvd)" once they have been prepared.
If a member of the public has any general questions regarding the proposed project or virtual meeting or in-person option, they can contact Andres Espinoza, P.E., San Benito Area Engineer via phone at 956-399-5102, or via email at Andres.Espinoza@txdot.gov.
“The environmental review, consultation, and other actions required by applicable Federal environmental laws for this project are being, or have been, carried-out by TxDOT pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327 and a Memorandum of Understanding dated December 9, 2019, and executed by FHWA and TxDOT,” TxDOT states.
