Free Republic

Lately I have heard from some of you, asking about the Corridor. Most folks believe it is over, dead, gone from our beautiful East Texas. I have been watching our government's actions on this subject. Did you know that in TxDOT's cover letter to the federal government it states they will only use existing highways to build their corridor? Did you know that TxDOT also stated that it may need to build in non-existing paths also, some time in the future. Citizens, I write you today to make sure you understand that the corridor issue in Trinity County has not...

Minutes south of Interstate 10 and Sealy, the pastures along FM 1458 are their own silent world in the morning. Mists lift to reveal black cattle, brown and spotted horses, snow-white egrets underfoot in lush green grass. Then a concrete mixer comes churning down the blacktop. Just up the road is a small subdivision. More are sure to come as city dwellers, including weekenders and retirees, move out in search of a quieter, simpler life — and relief from city traffic. Although the gradual influx may bring greater changes in the long run, what disturbs residents most is the planned...

SH 130 Concession Company LLC finalized the legal details of a financial close with Texas DOT on a $1,360m toll concession to build SH130 segments 5&6 Thursday and Friday last week in bankers' offices in New York City - at Orrick, 666 Fifth Avenue. The actual money flows should occur on Thursday or Friday (Mar 13 or 14) this week, Jose Maria Lopez de Fuentes, president of Cintra North America, told us this morning. Hundreds of documents and over 20 lawyers were involved last week representing TxDOT, private equity people, banks, mostly European, the TIFIA loan group from FHWA, and...

Trucks hauling everything from cars to produce use Southeast Texas roads to deliver their goods, and when a proposed Interstate 69/Trans Texas Corridor is completed, local drivers could see even more of them, local transportation officials said. The proposed I-69 corridor stretches from Michigan down to Texas. Once in Texas, the corridor goes about 650 miles from Texarkana to Brownsville and Laredo and includes separate lanes for cars and semis and areas for trains and utilities. It doesn't cut through Beaumont, but local arteries like U.S. 69 and Interstate 10 would connect to it. Travelers and truckers just need to...

Ever wish you weren't right? In 1997, the notion of selling off publicly owned infrastructure to private sector operators was coming into its own. After the city hired a consultant to determine the value of the publicly owned CPS Energy, it raised red flags. CPS consistently charges some of Texas' lowest utility rates while providing a significant chunk of the city's revenue, I argued. Profit motives can produce wondrous results. But uncontrolled, they can also produce costly disasters. Some things — especially those that efficiently deliver services that are essential — are best kept in the public sector to assure...

Just when you think, you have heard it all something else pops up. I have stated my opinion on the state's effort to utilize tolls as the future funding for highways in Texas. Just in case you missed it, I oppose the idea of tolls being the primary source of funding for state highways. I need to clarify my opposition by stating I am not so much opposed to new toll roads, but rather the idea of tolling existing roads. A large portion of the price for a gallon of gas goes to the state and federal folks for highway...

The Blackland Coalition is the largest of the grassroots coalitions fighting against the Trans-Texas 35 & 69 Corridors. It has been our priviledge to become acquainted with the Blackland Coalition leaders and members in the TTC “trenches� that we share. Some of them and members of CorridorWatch. org & IndyTexans will be joining together with citizens of our counties in attending the schedule of TTC-69 DEIS Hearings which will likely be in February 2008. Word of the February timeframe comes to us from the TTC-69 office of Jack Heiss (Texas Turnpike Authority TTC-69). As soon as an official hearings schedule...

The Interstate 69 corridor is one of six highways selected for a new federal program to develop multi-state corridors to help reduce congestion, according to Texas transportation officials. Interstate 69 from Texas to Michigan, and Interstate 10 from California through Texas to Florida, were among the highways selected by the U.S. Department of Transportation as part of its "Corridors of the Future" program.It is aimed at developing innovative national and regional approaches to reduce congestion and improve efficiency of freight delivery, according to Marcus Sandifer, spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportation's Atlanta District. Eight states, including Texas, will divide...

Transportation was a hot subject during the recent legislative session - and it continues to be so in the interim. This week, several Texas lawmakers, Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson and state Reps. Joe Farias, David Leibowitz, Nathan Macias and others held a press conference in San Antonio in protest against current transportation policy and the Texas Department of Transportation. Key among their concerns are recent reports the state agency has launched a public relations plan to promote the Trans-Texas Corridor and to lobby for toll roads. Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom founder Terri Hall is among those criticizing...

Note the very long train - all the cars are marked "China Shipping" These Three Trucks were Marked "Untitled Guatemala Vehicle" were loaded with new generators were spotted on the road out of New Orleans. This truck was marked "Chihuahua, Mexico, Government vehicle. The border Crossing at San Clemente was very busy:

IRVING — Just two months after the state's transportation department got its latest marching orders from the Legislature, a leading state senator said Tuesday the agency is as arrogant as ever. At a hearing of the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee, Chairman John Carona, R-Dallas, accused Texas Department of Transportation officials of circumventing legislative intent and even refusing to explain what they're up to. "What does it take to get TxDOT to listen to the will of the legislators?" he said. "It is a core attitude of arrogance that I believe still exists." Carona made the same complaint last...

In what is being projected as an economic boom for the East Texas region (if it comes to fruition), the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will soon begin work on a feasibility study for an East-West corridor. The announcement was made last week as the TxDOT Commission voted to move forward with the study that will cost an estimated $2 million. The corridor is the brainchild of the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway Coalition. "If we had a major four-lane, east-west highway through Jasper it would mean to us what I-10 means to Beaumont and I-20 means to Shreveport," said Jasper...

SIERRA VISTA -- Fort Huachuca officials announced that all personnel including DA civilians and contractors have been sent home this morning due to the inclement weather. Only mission essential personnel and residents will be allowed access to the installation. All non-mission essential personnel who may already be on the fort have been released. Officials advise caution when traveling on the installation due to icy conditions. The fort's dining facilities are operating on a normal schedule for now, but the situation may be update. In other related news, Interstate 10 remains open but there are numerous icy spots east of Tucson....

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A motorist traveling on Interstate 4 in Orlando was injured after he was shot by a motorist he had honked at seconds earlier, according to a Local 6 News report. Police said the driver, who only wanted to be identified as Chad, was apparently cut off by two men in a white pickup while traveling on I-4 near Princeton Street. The police report said the men then threw a soda out of their pickup onto Chad's vehicle and then fired a shot into Chad's vehicle, hitting him in the arm. The bullet traveled through the vehicle's door...

KLBJ radio reporting up to 5,000 cars parked along I-10 in Colorado County (near Columbus, TX) due to lack of gasoline or breakdowns. Also reporting trashcans at all quick stops/gasoline stations are overflowing. The exit ramps from I-10 into Columbus are closed and people are NOT allowed into the city from I-10.

NEW ORLEANS - The historic city of New Orleans was steadily filling with water from nearby Lake Ponchartrain today after its defenses were breached by the ferocity of Hurricane Katrina. Water began rising in the streets this morning after a levee broke along a canal leading to Lake Pontchartrain, and many of the pumps relied upon by New Orleans -- built below sea level -- have failed. Officials planned to use helicopters to drop 3,000-pound sandbags into the breach, but rising floodwaters were threatening the French Quarter, residents were plucked from the roofs of their homes, bodies were seen floating...

Suspect freed, OK despite speeds of up to 120 mph By Becky Pallack ARIZONA DAILY STAR A man who led Highway Patrol officers on a high-speed chase Wednesday morning violently crashed his car east of Tucson and had to be pulled from the burning wreckage, officials said. Neither the man nor his rescuers were seriously injured in the crash, near the Vail interchange on Interstate 10. The 10-mile chase began when Officer Ted Edwards of the Arizona Department of Public Safety tried to stop a white 2004 Chevy Impala near the eastbound Kolb Road exit on I-10 around 9:45 a.m....

<p>Federal agents have arrested almost 200 smuggling suspects and thousands of undocumented immigrants along Interstate 10 in the aftermath of a deadly shooting incident earlier this month, authorities said.</p> <p>The U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection started intensified patrols Nov. 7 as part of "Operation Transguard," targeting I-10 and other popular smuggling arteries in response to a deadly shootout south of Phoenix.</p>

<p>Northwest Louisiana voters shouldn't expect to see much from the gubernatorial runoff candidates, according to local political watchers.</p> <p>Both Republican Bobby Jindal and Democrat Kathleen Blanco's campaigns say that Northwest Louisiana is important to their campaigns and that their candidates will visit often. But local experts say the real race will be won or lost - and fought - in South Louisiana.</p>

The Metropolitan Transit Authority will have space for a rail line in the middle of a widened Katy Freeway, officials involved in the $1 billion expansion project said Tuesday. But Metro President and CEO Shirley DeLibero said such a rail line depends on two very big ifs -- voter approval and federal dollars. To date, House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, has blocked federal funding to Metro for rail. "Without federal funding, we can't build anything," DeLibero said. Under a tentative agreement by the agencies involved, Metro would pay the state $5 million for reinforcements to support future trains,...