BONHAM, Texas (KTEN) — The City of Bonham is working to improve water and sewer lines, but that ongoing construction is causing headaches for people who call the town home.

"It's chaos all the time," said resident Jackie Bell. "It's been kind of difficult to get through and get through the driveway since we're right here in the middle of it."

But the city promises that drivers traveling down Island Bayou Road will soon see that construction come to an end.

It's part of the $15 million project that began six years ago to improve the city's water and sewer lines. The money came from the city's Water Development Board.

Island Bayou Road will be repaved after construction of a new water line is completed in Bonham.
Island Bayou Road will be repaved after construction of a new water line is completed in Bonham. (KTEN)

City Manager Sean Pate noted that Island Bayou Road is a major trunk-line distribution system for the city's sewer.

"The initiative was to prepare for all the growth in our region," Pate said. "We — like a lot of small cities — struggle at times to be able to have adequate new infrastructure, and we were able to do that and upsize it at the same time."

The city's water line contractors have been testing and sampling the new water line along the road.

"Island Bayou is probably one of the larger lines, and it's one of the ones people see the most, because it connects a lot of our residential area to our commercial district," Pate said. "It's a heavily traveled road, so people are seeing that right now."

The water and sewer line project is expected to be completed in about 60 days.

"We should be completely done, cleanup and begin resurfacing the remainder of those affected streets," Pate said. "We still plan for future upgrades in the coming years."