Trans Texas Corridor is dead, TxDOT saya

DALLAS MORNING NEWS ^ | 06 JAN 09 | MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER

[TXnMA]

Trans Texas Corridor is dead, TxDOT says

10:50 AM CST on Tuesday, January 6, 2009

By MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER / The Dallas Morning News
mlindenberger@dallasnews.com

AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Transportation announced this morning that it has officially killed the Trans Texas Corridor, saying that despite the project's visionary aspects, "it is clearly not the choice of Texans."

Direct link to article...

[TXnMA]

Sounds good, but I'll trust and believe it when:

1. RINO Rick Perry no longer has an office in Texas government

2. TxDOT is forced to return to its original status as the Texas Highway Department -- period...

3. Texas' highway construction is under an elected Commisioner...

4. An alternate highway (only) is under construction.

[Uncle Miltie]

Wow! Big win.

[muawiyah]

Don’t be fooled with the name change ~ it’s now I-69 and it’s being built as we speak!

[TXnMA]

PING for Good news -- if true.

TSR, I think that this one might be worthy of a ping to your list...

[GQuagmire]

Consider yourself lucky. If they only pulled the plug on the Big Dig......(were you here during it?)

[TXnMA]

Please correct the (saya says) typo in the title to make it more searchable...

(The POST form's tiny font size on this hi-res screen is a real challenge for these old eyes...)

Thanks!

TXnMA

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

Separate lanes for large trucks seemed like a good idea, for several reasons.

[TXnMA]

Yes — for the first twenty years and twenty billion dollars of it... ‘-}

[rwfromkansas]

Having recently moved to Texas, I had to look into this to see why highway improvements are a bad thing.

This was a very ambitious project, but I think I understand why it isn’t so good. It would support traffic from Mexico, take massive areas of land, and privatize the road system.

Something needs done. I am in West Texas, but when I am in Dallas, the traffic is ridiculous. I-35 north to OKC or south toward the Waco area is just flat terrifying. Something needs done, and hopefully it will happen.

But, not this TTC plan.

[TXnMA]

Actually, I championed separate minimum-width cargo-only (trucks + rail) corridors -- one N-S and one E-W -- (without all the utilities ROW, etc).

That would leave the present Interstates for passenger vehicle use only -- which would increase safety, decrease IH traffic volume, and extend the infrastructure's usable lifetimes tremendously.

[rwfromkansas]

I would say that is one good idea, and parts of this will still be built.

I do believe they need to make separate lanes for trucks.

[TXnMA]

"Wow! Big win."

Thanks! I was right in the middle of the on-the-ground and head-to head battle with TxDOT...

[bigbob]

So, I guess if they wanted a corridor there, they’d build it themselves.

[TXnMA]

I agree (See #10...)

[Ditter]

Yeah, something needs to be done alright. People need to stop moving here. The weather it horrible ya’ll. Scorching hot for 8 months out of the year. mosquitoes that can carry you off, roaches as big as limos, poisonous snakes everywhere. Not to mention floods and droughts, hurricanes and tornadoes. Don't come here it is a nightmare place to live.

That should do it! ;9)

[relictele]

That would leave the present Interstates for passenger vehicle use only -- which would increase safety, decrease IH traffic volume, and extend the infrastructure's usable lifetimes tremendously.

That would be fantastic but wouldn't the trucking industry go nuts and moan about road/fuel taxes etc. while ignoring the damage their vehicles cause daily?

[Rastus]

Translate it into Spanish and you’ve got a winner.

[2CAVTrooper]

“Separate lanes for large trucks seemed like a good idea, for several reasons.”

I agree that trucks, large RV’s, and busses should have their own lanes that’s physically separated from passenger car traffic.

[TXnMA]

Not quite sure what your point is, but TxDOT has zero business grabbing and fencing in ROW for pipelines, power lines, etc.

If Texans want to include rail in their charter, then my solution in # 10 (built along old rail ROWs) would apply...

Of course none of the above would apply unless adjoining States made the same commitment to ensure long-distance freight transport.

[TXnMA]

Ya left out the "far aints"... <LOL!!>

[zeugma]

"Make no mistake: The Trans Texas Corridor as we have known it no longer exists," he said.

Each of the dozens of projects that were linked together under the rubric of the TTC – including the Loop 9 project in Dallas and the I-69 project in the south – will remain as stand-alone projects, he said.

Make no mistake folks, this is merely a name change. Will anyone put money on it not being a foreign-owned toll road?

[Ditter]

Oh yeah I forgot the fire ants, they are EVERYWHERE ya’ll! LOL!

[TXnMA]

Actually, truckers tell me that they would love to have safe, lighted places built just for them to pull over and sleep -- instead of congregating on the shoulders of all our IH on/off ramps at night... They also say their costs would also benefit greatly from using a ROW that had the easy grades required for cargo rail. And they wouldn't miss "that *^&$$ 4-wheeler traffic" at all!

[zeugma]

From the article: Saenz vowed, however, that TxDOT will continue to seek private partnerships for some of the individual toll projects that were once part of the TTC – assuming that the Legislature does not outlaw that practice.

THAT is what needs to be done. I sometimes wish we had the initiative process here in Texas.

[Ditter]

Those people don’t care, it is worse where they live.

[2CAVTrooper]

“extend the infrastructure's usable lifetimes tremendously.”

Well actually if the road beds were constructed the same way the Germans built their Autobahns, the roads would last 50+ years before needing any major repair as opposed to the every 12 to 20 years here in the U.S.

The road beds and the wearing surface of the Autobahn is twice that of whats found on our interstates here in the U.S. and thus are less susceptible to damage due to freeze/thaw cycles, settling, and premature wear.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

It’s dead, Jim.

Trans-Texas Corridor PING!

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

The pavement on the Autobahn is 27” thick. In the U.S., it is typically 11”.

[deport]

Roadways and utility rows will still be needed. I think they got way to far ahead of themselves with the concept and the people revolted against it.

Now it's back to the old method of building a few miles at a time, separate rows for rail, pipelines, transmission lines, etc and in the meantime the congestion gets worse.

You are correct about the I-35 corridor from San Antonio north to the DFW area. There are some tollroads being constructed paralleling parts of I-35 that hopefully will help some. Hopefully the Sequin to north of Austin 130 will eventually get funded and built.

[TXnMA]

Agreed — but we have thousands of miles of exiting IHs (built to the lower standard) that we must live with, so moving the heavy cargo traffic onto a corridor built to Autobahn specs still makes sense.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[adm5]

The Texas Department of Transportation announced this morning that it has officially killed the Trans Texas Corridor, saying that despite the project's visionary aspects, "it is clearly not the choice of Texans."

I'm more inclined to think the REAL reason this project has been cancelled has to do with economics, not whether Texans agreed or disagreed; TXDOT has known of this opinion for years, yet continued to push.

The main shipping ports of California are no longer terminally gridlocked with shipping containers. The idea was that Mexico would build a port/s capable of handling the bulk of China's goods, thus relieving congestion at The Port of Long Beach.

Enter Trans-Texas Corridor.

The U.S. recession has, for the time being, cured this congestion problem. Hence, no reason for TTC now.

[SandWMan]

Problem is, that it’s not just a new highway. It’s the “NAFTA Superhighway” that will eventually extend from Mexico to Canada, and is intended to be the vanguard for the open-borders of the “North American Community”.

The Pheonix may be dead...for the moment.

[rwfromkansas]

I miss my Kansas snow a bit, but I do like Texas. I won’t like the heat in summer, but I suppose I could get some misters for the backyard. Those things really helped at the state fair.

[rwfromkansas]

As for the other stuff, come on. :) A snake here and there won’t end me.

[Sarajevo]

YEE-Haw! Now if we can rid ourselves of the local toll initiatives.

[TXnMA]

<LOL!!> "exiting" s/b "existing"...

Nowadays, the "exiting" is pretty much clogged with 18-wheelers whose drivers are napping...

[XenaLee]

You left out the humidity. The awful, horrifying, debilitating humidity!!! (this is Hell...really...it is!)

[TXnMA]

"I miss my Kansas snow a bit..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To paraphrase Lennart, my old Svenska fishing buddy,

"Ya, I sure miss the snow in MA -- I miss it -- but not veddy much!"

But I miss the snow shoveling nary a bit! <LOL!!!>

[CenTex]

You should see the newly opened ‘Rest Stops’ at marker 282 on the Texas IH-35, about 50 miles north of Austin. Very high dollar and lots of room for trucks... I have been totally confused by these facilities since TxDOT has been crying the blues over lack of money and need for new toll roads.

BTW, I wonder if Goodhair’s son will lose his plush job with the Spanish company now?

[TXnMA]

"BTW, I wonder if Goodhair’s son will lose his plush job with the Spanish company now?"

One can but hope...

[CenTex]

Still carrying Goodhair’s water huh?

HEHEHEHEHEHE... I think that is the last laugh...

[lolhelp]

What part of Texas are you in? It is so dry down here, I keep looking for camel trains!!!!

[CounterCounterCulture]

bookmarking

[wolfcreek]

“People need to stop moving here.”

I like that one. Stay and screw up your OWN state.

[A Texan]

I agree. I have lived my entire life here it's a bad place especially if you are a yankee or liberal. Please, please stay away, you won't like it here. crosses fingers

[wolfcreek]

Thank You for your Service to our state and it's people.

[wolfcreek]

Haven’t you heard? The US/Spanish/Austrailian connection is schedualed for a go this summer.

http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/01/03/0103tollway.html

[wolfcreek]

Haven't you heard? The US/Spanish/Austrailian connection is schedualed for a go this summer.

http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/01/03/0103tollway.html

[Paleo Conservative]

Separate lanes for large trucks seemed like a good idea, for several reasons.

Not if you're an ambulance chasing trial lawyer who makes a living suing trucking companies after 18-wheelers collide with passenger vehicles.