A Zapata County rancher said a highway expansion project will now go around his property, and keep his home intact.

Rene Ramirez of El Milagro Ranch first spoke with Channel 5 News in March 2025 to discuss how a Texas Department of Transportation project to expand Highway 83 would bring the highway within a few feet of his front door.

READ MORE: Zapata County family fears losing their property to highway expansion project

Ramirez told Channel 5 News he was worried he would lose some of the 1,200 acres on his property to the project.

TxDOT confirmed to Channel 5 News that the design plan for the expansion project was redrawn to divert the work to the other side of the highway to keep the home intact.

“I was very excited, it was so much better than what I was anticipating,” Ramirez said. “The original plan was going to be about five feet from the front door, which caused this year-long battle."

The expansion project on Highway 83 will run from the Starr County line to the Webb County line, and is expected to start in 2027.