In the early years of the 21st century, Lubbock turned its Milwaukee Avenue into a major thoroughfare. Previously, Milwaukee was a 4-mile dirt road on farm land with hardly any traffic a mile or more from major development. With growth headed westward, the city allocated nearly $20 million to convert the road into a seven-lane concrete thoroughfare. In 2004, the city funded the project and other developments to come by establishing a new fund that tapped part of the franchise fees received. As of 2018, more than $124 million in street construction has been possible from the fund, including Slide Road, 98th Street, Indiana Avenue, and the last phases of the Marsha Sharp Freeway. Public Works Director Wood Franklin said Milwaukee Avenue was conceived on the "build it and they will come" theory. Marc McDougal, then the mayor of Lubbock, described the project as a well calculated risk that subsequently greatly benefited the city.