SHERMAN, TX-Your drive to Sherman's Town Center may be less congested in the future.

Sherman city officials, developers and TxDOT are planning to widen Loy Lake Bridge.

Sherman City Engineer, Clay Barnett told me they are looking into turning Loy Lake Bridge into a six lane street to help ease traffic.

He presented the plans to city council two weeks ago and he says work on the project may take up to two and a half years to complete.

Ashley Henson passes over the Loy Lake Bridge on her way to work every day and she said traffic is unbearable.

"Right now, it's pretty hectic anyways because you have some people who block the entrance to try to get on to the bridge and I'm surprised people haven't had wrecks yet. It's just horrible," she said.

Terri Wyman agrees.

"The traffic gets kinda bad sometimes, it gets kinda congested," she said.

Sherman City Engineer, Clay Barnett said the city is working with TxDOT to widen the three-lane Loy Lake Bridge by adding three more lanes. Because there are times of the year when the bridge is near impassable.

"The bridge has met capacity and is under capacity now and actually, during the holidays, traffic stacks up all the way across the bridge even on the Loy Lake road in order to turn," he said.

Barnett says TxDOT set aside $5.6 million for the project and it's expected to start late this summer. He said the project may take up to two and a half years and parts of the bridge will be closed during construction.

"It will be a little busier in this area. But is should be passable and they'll continue maintaining traffic as best as they can," he said.

"With it being bigger, it will certainly help a lot of things. But in the meantime, it will cause some problems here," Wyman said.

"It'll be beneficial in the end but it's also taking the people who do drive that way crazy to find different ways to go where they need to go across to the town center," Henson said.

Barnett said widening Loy Lake Bridge will help promote more growth.

"This is just another example of how Sherman is looking for partners in the private sector in order to create opportunities for commercial and just different types of development," he said.

Barnett said along with widening Loy Lake Bridge, the owner of the Sherman commons will be adding $1.3 million to raise the low-lying intersection on the east side of the bridge. And the city of Sherman will also be adding $700,000 from leftover TIF money to widen Loy Lake Road between Highway 75 to Sara Swamy drive.