Tuesday, January 6, 2009

TxDOT ditches Trans-Texas Corridor in favor of scaled-down fragmented plan

By Pegasus News wire

Before approximately 1,200 attendees at the fourth annual Texas Transportation Forum Tuesday, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Executive Director Amadeo Saenz unveiled Innovative Connectivity in Texas|Vision 2009, outlining updated guidelines for development of the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC).

The document describes the transformation of the original TTC vision, altered with regard to corridor width, transportation mode, use of existing facilities, timeline for development, and level of involvement of local officials and citizens in planning major corridor facilities in their communities.

Major corridor projects will now be comprised of several small segments closer to 600 feet wide and will no longer be called the Trans-Texas Corridor. Instead, the department will use the highway numbers originally associated with each segment, such as I-69, SH 130 and Loop 9. In addition, TxDOT will seek guidance from Corridor Segment Advisory Committees, comprised of citizens from affected communities along each corridor segment, to design and build facilities that meet the needs of the region, whether that includes road, freight rail, commuter rail and so on.

The original vision for the TTC, outlined in Crossroads of the Americas: Trans-Texas Corridor Plan, called for a corridor of up to 1,200 feet in width that would allow for several modes of transportation in addition to utility transmission facilities. Since the concept was publicly introduced in 2002, communities along the TTC-35 and I-69/TTC study areas have frequently voiced concerns over the corridor width, and viewed the idea as a one-size-fits-all concept, inappropriate for a state as diverse as Texas.

The corridors are still in early phases of development. As each corridor continues to undergo federal environmental impact studies, the public will play a significant role in shaping the development and path of the roadway. These environmental impact studies and input received from public participation in Corridor Segment Advisory Committees, Corridor Advisory Committees and town hall meetings will eventually determine the final route alignment to satisfy the state's transportation needs.

Source: TxDOT

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Comments

John McClelland Verified

I am no longer going to call them TxDOT. Their new name is DOTTx. See, entirely different!

10 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Pavel Lishin Verified

Hey, how about we just finish fixing I-35? It goes everywhere worth going to in Texas - that is, Austin & DFW.

10 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Teresa Gubbins Staff

Texans for Public Justice just issued a report summarizing the flaws of the TTC, including the massive campaign contributions made by transportation contractors (i.e. people who would profit from building the TTC) to Governor Perry and various PACs. Here's a good paragraph:

"Since the state solicited its first bids for a leg of the TTC project in 2003, private companies that have landed lucrative TTC contracts have contributed $3.4 million to Texas candidates and political committees—a significant increase in their political activity. TTC contractors also have spent up to $6.1 million on Texas lobbyists since the state solicited their respective bids."

10 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )