Abilene mail processing center to receive up to $7 million upgrade

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) - Abilene's postal service is going to receive an upgrade worth up to $7 million in order to get more mail processed within city limits.

The upgrade will take place at Abilene's Mail Processing Facility off Hwy 351.

United States Postal Service officials say these upgrades will mean that, "mail being delivered from one address in Abilene to another will not leave the region for processing."

"Our proposed operational strategy will generate substantial savings for the Postal Service. This strategy provides a solution that will ensure our organization can cover the cost of local originating mail processing operations in the Abilene facility,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. "Moreover, our Delivering for America plan is channeling up to $7 million into upgrading the Abilene facility. This investment goes beyond just enhancing the work environment for our employees. It's about equipping the facility with the necessary technology and resources to deliver top-notch service to the local community for the foreseeable future."

Upgrades will include modernization efforts as well as, "expanded and streamlined package and mail processing and distribution capabilities for the facility," according to a USPS press release.

Additionally, there will be no employee layoffs and employees will now get to enjoy upgrades as well, such as new lighting, bathrooms, and break rooms.

This decision comes as part of the USPS Mail Processing Facility Review initiative, which initially recommended closing the Abilene processing center, which would have resulted in mail being sent to DFW for processing.

The upgrades are replacing that initial decision, allowing the operation to remain in Abilene.