The city of Tyler will throw a party, complete with snow cones, to celebrate the long-awaited opening of Cumberland Road.
A grand opening ceremony is set for 9 to 11 a.m. Friday. The ceremony will be on the road, between Cherryhill Drive and Blue Mountain Boulevard. It is a come-and-go event that is open to the public. Refreshments will be provided, including bottled water and tea. Snow cones will be provided by the city’s solid waste department.
The event will include a short ceremony with an address from Mayor Martin Heines. The road’s engineers also will be available for questions.
The extension will officially open after Friday’s ceremony.
The $17.9 million project will create a four-lane path to get from South Broadway Avenue to Old Jacksonville Highway.
It is part of the city’s effort to create more east and west corridors to alleviate traffic off South Broadway. It’s the second corridor constructed through half-cent sales tax. The Grande Boulevard extension was also paid for through the fund.
Cumberland Road includes a hike-and-bike trail, which connects Grande Boulevard to Cumberland Road.
The road will be open to traffic in time for the new school year. Tyler ISD starts classes Aug. 24.
Cumberland Road will have a school zone on it to help with traffic to Jack Elementary.
A 1,550-foot school zone extends west on Cumberland Road from a new intersection of Blue Mountain and Cumberland, past the intersection of Cumberland and Stonebridge Way.
The zone is longer than most school zones in the city to slow traffic down before it gets to Cumberland Place Apartments. The apartments house quite a few children attending Jack Elementary.
The regular speed limit is 45 mph but the school zone will slow traffic to 30 mph. Overhead flashers will be placed on Cumberland.
- Staff Writer Betty Waters contributed to this report.
