Lubbock Votes Yes On Proposition A: $103.4 Million Bond For Road Improvements

Lubbock voters have spoken, and the results are in: on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, residents approved a massive $103.4 million bond to revamp key roads across the city. With 53% of voters saying 'yes', this bond, officially known as 'Proposition A', is set to reshape our infrastructure and keep up with our growing city. But what does this mean for your daily drive around town? How awful are these projects going to make driving in the Hub City? Let’s break it down.

Some of Lubbock’s oldest and most traveled roads are about to get a well-deserved facelift. Take Broadway, for instance. The iconic downtown stretch from Avenue Q to Avenue E will be completely rebuilt. Gone are the nostalgic but bumpy bricks; expect smooth concrete and safer streets in their place. Over on University, from 50th Street down to South Loop 289, we’ll see repaving, new medians, and better traffic flow--or so they say.

But it’s not just the well-traveled streets getting attention. Upland Avenue between 98th and 114th Street will widen from two lanes to five, with sidewalks and updated drainage to boot. Same story for 34th Street from Upland to Alcove Avenue, where a new three-lane expansion is planned. For south Lubbock, 146th Street is in for big upgrades, with smoother roads, raised medians, and better drainage solutions between Slide Road, Quaker, and Avenue P.

All these improvements mean a property tax bump of about $27.60 annually for most homeowners (good news for those 65 and older: exemptions still apply).

This bond has been the subject of debate, with many excited to see Lubbock’s infrastructure catch up to its growth. But for others, the recurring bonds and tax hikes can be a bit much. I mean, check out the map below that I saw on a Reddit thread. You can see there is a definite side of town that voted 'for' and a side that voted 'against'...

Still, with construction on the horizon, Lubbock’s roads are set to get safer, smoother, and more ready than ever to handle the expansion of the Hub City.