Driving south on Soncy Road this morning, my attention turned to that big retail-residential complex going up just west of Hillside Christian Church.

It took forever to lay the foundation for it, but now the framing has begun. It’ll be a huge boon to the west end of the city — and figures to remake what once had been called a “loop” around Amarillo, Loop 335.

We’ve all seen that the loop doesn’t serve that purpose so much now. It’s now just one more busy street that’s going to get a lot busier once the new complex is completed.

I then thought about something I read recently about how the Texas Department of Transportation is going to start work soon on the southern end of Loop 335, turning it into a “controlled access” thoroughfare from Bell to points east. That will mean TxDOT will make access onto the loop more restrictive, I reckon by getting rid of the cross street access onto the street. The state will erect on- and off-ramps to create something of a highway that skirts the southern edge of a city that’s growing.

One of the mysteries that continues to nag me is how Loop 335 became such a mishmash. My understand all along is that it was built to serve motor vehicle traffic the way Loop 289 does in Lubbock. Loop 289 is a controlled access highway as it circles the Hub City. If you need to get to the other side of the city, take the loop and zip around until you find the exit you want.

Loop 335 doesn’t have that characteristic. It’s just a really busy street, especially from Interstate 40 south to 45th Avenue. Travel farther south toward Hillside Road and you see even more development sprouting up.

To what end is TxDOT’s plan for the southern loop? I’m still trying to figure that one out.

Meantime, Soncy Road continues to evolve into something to be determined later.