TYLER - Since 2003 the Texas Department of Transportation has been toiling away on sections of Loop 49.

Now, work on segment five will start in February.

It will connect FM 756 and Highway 110 in Whitehouse.

The expansion will create a gateway from city to city like Bullard to Whitehouse without having to go on small county roads or through Tyler.

TxDOT chose local company Longview Bridge and Road for the more than 15 million dollar project.

That funding is coming from proposition 14 which allowed TxDOT to borrow against future gas tax revenues.

While the project will create more work for local companies, some wonder will it hurt businesses or congest traffic while construction is going on?

Officials say no.

"All the right of ways have been purchased, utilities have been moved out of the way for the most part, and the only question is when do we go to work?" Larry Krantz from TxDOT says.

Segment 3A is also in the works right now.

When these two segments are finished, likely in 2013, Toll 49 will stretch about 16 miles.