Sarah Dupre, Management Analyst for the Beaumont District of the Texas Department of Transportation, was the guest speaker at the December 11 meeting of the Rotary Club of Beaumont.  Sarah serves as a management analyst for the Beaumont District of the Texas Department of Transportation. In that role she works with local elected officials, major stakeholders and on public involvement for various projects throughout the District’s eight counties. Before her current position, Sarah served as public information officer for the District for 10 years. She has been with the department since 2013. Before joining TxDOT Sarah was a communication specialist for the Diocese of Beaumont and also worked for Cumulus Broadcasting. She is a Southeast Texas native and a graduate of Lamar University.

Ms. Dupre opened her comments discussing the TXDOT ’End The Streak TX' campaign, to raise awareness of public safety on Texas Highways.  November 7, 2000 was the last day when there were no Texas highway fatalities.

Sarah explained that the TXDOT Beaumont District covers eight counties and 6,051 Lane Miles which include 83 miles on IH-10.  Today, there are more than $2.1B of projects under construction.  A total of $1.2B of that total is committed to IH-10 in Jefferson and Orange counties.  She shared the progress of several other major projects in the area including the IH-10/US 69 Interchange project, the US 69 / SH 73 Turbine project, and several aspects of the US 69 Corridor. The presentation was highly engaging and prompted numerous questions from the audience. Sarah provided thorough and well-informed answers, including those regarding the Maurie Meyers Bridge, the raising of bridge clearances over interstate traffic to 18 feet, the Woodville Corridor, the sound wall near the I-10 Dog Park, the Smith Road overpass completion in 2025, and the scheduling for removal of small and larger debris alongside the roadways.