Posted on 01/18/2008 9:51:51 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Hundreds showed up to a town hall meeting Thursday night in Lufkin, many with questions for Texas Department of Transportation officials about the I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor that could run through or around Lufkin, Nacogdoches, Huntsville and other East Texas towns.
As it's drawn up, I-69/TTC would include toll roads, high-speed freight and commuter rail, water lines, oil and gas pipelines, electric transmission lines and telecommunications infrastructure in one corridor running north/south through Texas. One primary purpose of the corridor would be to help with the state's projected traffic congestion.
Although TxDOT directors assured everyone that nothing is set in stone and they want to hear the public's ideas, current plans have the corridor running through East Texas.
"One option is no-build," said TxDOT Executive Director Steve Simmons. "Another is a different alignment."
Many land owners expressed worry over the corridor being built directly over their land.
"There's a lot of 'ifs,' such as if it's going to come through my land," Gary Smith of Trinity County told the TxDOT officials. "I don't want to go somewhere else, but I'm only one person ... Who's going to buy this right-of-way, and what's going to happen to our lives?"
Phil Russell, TxDOT assistant director of innovative project development, explained how the process of buying someone's land works. According to Russell, an appraiser would be hired to assess the value of the property. The owner would be shown the value and given relocation assistance. If the owner didn't like the price offered, he could go through several more processes of trying to come to an agreement on a fair value.
Russell also encouraged everyone with such concerns to contact TxDOT so the agency could do what it can to avoid that property.
The possibility of turning state highways 59, 281 and 77 into toll roads also concerned many people. Russell said he believes that, if those roads are expanded, only the new lanes would be subjected to tolls.
Many people expressed concern over other effects of the proposed corridor, such as the loss of open space, the loss of private property (including ranches that have been in a family for generations), and damage to the environment. However, some expressed support of the corridor.
"I'm tired of building tunnels under roads so little frogs can cross the road," said J.T. Smith, a former transportation worker. "We need a better dream than the rest of the world. Let's build through downtown and keep our cities vital."
Houston County Judge Lonnie Hunt also expressed support for the corridor.
"Change is never easy, but change is coming," Hunt said. "I think it's important that we plan for it and that we plan well into the future. This will give you a greater connection to another part of the world."
The town hall meeting came right before 46 public hearings to be held in different part of Texas over the next couple months, beginning in Center and Huntsville on Feb. 4.
Lufkin's is scheduled for Feb. 12 at the Pitser Garrison Civic Center. All meetings are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
On the Web: www.keeptexasmoving.com
I bought and have worked to hard for the land I own,spent tens of thousands of dollars and live on a piece of property I plan to die on. It is MY property. I could care less about fair-market value. MY LAND IS NOT FOR SALE AT ANY PRICE. Build this thing along existing interstates but do not steal hundreds of thousands of acres and divide and take away land that has been in families for hundreds of years. My county,Grimes, would be split in half and devoured by the land grab by Rick Perry. God has a special way of dealing with thieves, its already happened to one of the top officials at Txdot.
Trans-Texas Corridor PING!
BTTT
In this day and age of homeland security and general danger it seems to me the primary purpose of this would be consolidation of targets to ease the work of those of evil intent.
My husband tells me that this ‘project’ is supposed to take 50 years! I think it would be obsolete well in advance of reaching the halfway point. By that time we should all have hovercraft anyway!
“One option is no-build,” said TxDOT Executive Director Steve Simmons. “Another is a different alignment.”
Raise your hands for the “no-build” option...
(Steve raises his hand Waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy Up!!!)
Also Lonnie Hunt in Houston County represents one of the poorest counties in Texas...
Sure, they’d like the intrusion and temporary influx of jobs and cash...Then they could setup one of those notorious East Texas “Boss Hogg’s” speedtraps on the thing...Just as long as they split the revenue with “Uncle Sucky” (A.K.A.: “Uncle Sam”) they are obviously ok with all of this...
As I have said before, I think I-69 in Texas will get built as a standard interstate (free or toll). All the rest of the TTC junk in the plan (rail lines, etc) will go away.
The problem with the TTC has always been it’s “weight”. The Texas government is simply trying to cram too much into one “transportation corridor”. The only things not yet in this thing are a monorail, canal, and a bike path!
If they had started this thing as an Interstate, it would have been built without any problems. Instead, Texas DOT has fed conspiracy theorists, offended the people along the route, and generally shot themselves in the foot.
In the future the TTC will be held up as a shining example of what not to do, along with the Embarcadero Freeway and the “Big Dig”.*
*Yes the Big Dig got built, but it should be listed in a thesaurus as a synonym for waste, fraud, and abuse.
My family is from East Texas. My grandparents lived in Woodville. We have a family cemetary in Chester, Texas, and my mom still has land in that area.
I think I hate the idea of a huge highway going through it.
I know it’s hard to travel around that area, but it is a beautiful area that I would hate to change that much.
Why would there a be a town hall meeting put on by the Texas Department of Transportation officials about the I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor if it’s just a rumor and conspiracy theory?
After all Bush and Canada’s Harper both said it wasn’t true and completely made up by us wacky people on the internets.
I like this one
“This will give you a greater connection to another part of the world.” (being 3rd world and China)
I already feel better. NOT!
“The only things not yet in this thing are a monorail, canal, and a bike path!”
Excellent observation. Let’s all get on the horn to El Govornor, Senor Perry, and to the Drive By Media, and El Presidente Jorges Bush and the Spanish and Mexican Bankers, and get these things added, especially the canal, as with it we could import illegals by barge, at the lowest possible cost.
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