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I-10 expansion will force some Beaumont businesses to relocate

Sources tell us some businesses at the I-10 highway 69 split are already preparing to give up their land.

The massive Interstate 10 rebuild in Beaumont will force some businesses to relocate. 

TxDOT plans to widen the interstate between the Cardinal Drive interchange and the Eastex interchange.

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Businesses on the interstate curve in Beaumont may lose their property.

The project involves 'constructing two-lane direct connectors, or elevated flyover ramps, where I-10 and 69 converge,' according to TxDOT's website.

Don Kalef, the owner of Smoke Deez Smoke Shop isn't fond of the $500 million I-10 expansion project. 

The store is located in the 2500 block of I-10 East near the curve. 

He's worried about how it'll impact nearby businesses.

"I can only imagine whoever is going to be affected by it and how they feel," said Kalef. 

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The project will improve the five-mile stretch of the interstate, including two interchanges, Eastex freeway and Cardinal Drive. It will also include widening parts of the interstate to six lanes as well as improving exits and ramps. 

"We don't have a complete list of the properties which will be affected at this time," said Sarah Dupre, spokesperson for TxDOT. "The schematic is still in the design phase." 

However, sources tell us some businesses at the I-10/Highway 69 split are already preparing to give up their land.

This project will begin sometime in 2021. 

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The Texas Department of Transportation Beaumont District is proposing to reconstruct and expand I-10 and US 69 where they converge in Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas, as part of the I-10 Interchanges Project (formerly known as the I-10/US 69 Interchange Improvement Project).

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