Hemphill is a primary north-south thoroughfare through the Near Southside.  Over the last decade, Hemphill has been the focus of three separate improvement projects.

The first project, already completed, installed pavement markings between Vickery and Rosedale to change the former five-lane arterial to a four-lane that helped slow traffic speeds and added on-street parking spaces for adjacent businesses.  The same project also installed a new mid-block crosswalk just north of Rosedale to ensure safe crossings for the residents of the Villages of Samaritan House.

Two additional projects are scheduled for construction beginning in 2012.  Streetscape improvements will be installed between Rosedale and Allen.  This project will widen sidewalks, install trees and pedestrian lights, and add enhanced crosswalks at the Magnolia/Hemphill intersection, the heart of the Magnolia Urban Village.

The second project scheduled for 2012 is the long-awaited Hemphill-Lamar connector, a new underpass connecting the Near Southside to Downtown.  This project was proposed as part of the I-30 relocation to improve connectivity between the two districts and to add a more viable pedestrian and bicycle connection than the historic underpasses at Jennings, S. Main, and Henderson.  The underpass will feature four travel lanes as well as wide 10 ft. shared sidewalks for pedestrians and cyclists.