The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is investing nearly $850 million to reconstruct and expand the Interstate 10 (I-10) and U.S. Highway 69 (US 69) interchange in Beaumont and Jefferson County. According to officials, work is expected to be completed by late 2030 or early 2031.
TxDOT is executing the work as two separate construction contracts—the Cardinal Drive Interchange and the Eastex Interchange—both falling under the larger umbrella of the department’s 10/69 Interchange Projects program.
The combined projects are intended to improve mobility, reduce congestion and enhance emergency evacuation routes through the area. The effort has been in the works for several years, with TxDOT obtaining environmental clearance in 2020 through a Finding of No Significant Impact.
The Cardinal Drive Interchange carries an estimated construction cost of just over $300 million, while the Eastex Interchange is projected at approximately $550 million.
Improvements across both projects include widening I-10 and US 69 from four lanes to six in each direction between the two interchanges and widening interchange approaches from two lanes to three. The projects will also add new frontage roads, relocate I-10 ramps, construct two-lane direct connectors where the highways converge and upgrade drainage infrastructure.
As part of the work, TxDOT is also removing the Maury Meyers Bridge, also known as the Liberty/Laurel Overpass, to address a height constraint for freight movement through the corridor.
The Cardinal Drive Interchange broke ground in August 2022, while the Eastex Interchange began construction in November 2024. The prime contractor for the Eastex Interchange has not been publicly identified.
Over the past several months, crews at the Cardinal Drive site have shifted main lane traffic onto a newly built northbound US 69 frontage road bridge spanning the BNSF Railway. Workers have also put in sanitary sewer lines and continued building the westbound I-10 bridge near Washington Avenue.
Meanwhile, the Eastex Interchange has seen early-stage work centered on frontage road drainage improvements and the installation of foundations and structural components for several new bridges.
The Cardinal Drive Interchange will include 19 bridges, up from the 13 originally planned, with 12 of those needing to be lengthened to meet TxDOT design criteria. The Eastex Interchange will include additional bridges along with sound walls and retaining walls.
Beyond the main interchange work, TxDOT has made pavement repairs on I-10, is advancing lighting improvements at the Cardinal Drive Interchange and has completed a pedestrian improvement project in the Pinchback area near I-10. This includes new sidewalks, crosswalk enhancements and upgraded pedestrian signals.
Construction on both interchanges is expected to continue through the end of the decade, with the Eastex project requiring roughly 11 additional acres of right of way beyond the existing corridor. Once the Maury Meyers Bridge is removed, Liberty and Laurel avenues will be reconnected as underpasses, with the Laurel crossing designed to mirror the look of the original structure.
Photo by Kelly from Pexels
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