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Lucas council backs resolution to pursue four‑lane improvements on FM 1378
Summary
Council approved Resolution R2025‑02‑00565 expressing support for TxDOT to begin engineering and design for improvements on FM 1378 with a stated preference for limiting the project to no more than four lanes; the resolution does not commit the city to construction funding.
The Lucas City Council voted unanimously on Feb. 6 to approve Resolution R2025‑02‑00565 asking the Texas Department of Transportation to begin engineering and design work on FM 1378 with the city’s stated preference for a four‑lane configuration.
City Manager John Witzel (S10) told the council that early meetings with TxDOT had produced options and that "one of the things that they want to see from the city of Lucas is our commitment to support a 4 lane project," language the resolution uses to prompt TxDOT to begin engineering and design. Witzel characterized the vote as a step to start design work, not an agreement to any final design or funding commitments.
Council members emphasized public safety and traffic congestion as drivers for moving the project forward. A council member (S6) said the widening was needed to address emergency‑response constraints and to avoid pushing state‑level traffic onto city streets. Others cautioned that TxDOT is a state agency and ultimately decides design and routing, with one council member noting bluntly that "TxDOT can do what it wants to do," but that Lucas has built a relationship that allows meaningful local input.
Mayor/Chair (S1) said the resolution is intended to get TxDOT started on engineering so alternatives can be evaluated and local preferences (a maximum of four lanes and attention to aesthetics and right‑of‑way impacts) can be built into the design review. The motion passed with the mayor calling for the vote and the clerk recording unanimous assent.
