SABINE PASS, Texas — Jefferson County leaders are hoping to restore a stretch of Texas Highway 87, near Sabine Pass, to once again give residents a second option for an emergency escape route. For 34 years the portion that leads from Sabine pass to High Island and on to Galveston has been closed.
The Sabine Pass Port Authority is leading the charge with help from Jefferson County leaders. Officials with The Sabine Pass Port Authority are preparing a proposal to present to Jefferson County and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service. They are hoping for federal, state or private funds to pay for the rebuild.
“I think it's a positive thing for the community and for vacationers. People from Galveston can come and go as well as folks from this area can come and go. It’s a win- win for everybody” said Robert McMillion, a Sabine Pass resident.
Years of hurricane damage forced the highway closure back in 1989. Currently you can only drive 12 miles on the highway before you are forced to turn around.
“It must have been 85' or 86' but one storm came through and kind of damaged the road. Then I remember you could still make it all the way to High Island on the damaged road, well another came and just wiped it out!” said Jefferson County Precinct 3 Commissioner Michael Shane-SInegal.
“Now the Gulf of Mexico is really about a 4/8 of a mile into the marshland where the road use to be. So that would be some recapturing of the land. We’re spending millions of dollars to recapture the dunes for the turtles and birds that live on those dunes."
Sinegal is among several Southeast Texas leaders taking steps to get the stretch of the highway back open. He says it will take state and federal funds to rebuild and getting the money is the first step.
“God forbid an explosion or a release at the refineries it cuts those people off from the main part of Port Arthur," Sinegal said.
"The only way to get those residents off that island would be by boat or helicopter. I think the want to is there it's just about getting everybody to the table."
The convenience of this by-pass is worth the money and the effort, according to McMillion.
"It’s less than an hour's drive from here to Galveston," he said.
"If you go all the way around it's an hour and a half so yes it would be a benefit."
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.