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The much touted — and disputed — Trans-Texas Corridor may be one step away from a pipe dream and one step closer to a reality. The group this week released its Tier 1 Environmental Impact study, a look at how building the highway, dubbed I-69, running from Texarkana to Laredo, would affect the 50 or so counties it would run through. Bryan Wood, district engineer for the Texas Department of Transportation in Bryan, said the first study only looks at how the many initially proposed component of the highway would impact the surrounding areas. “We’re still a long ways away...

The new Interstate 69 should be built in Texas mostly along existing highways – including U.S. 59, U.S. 77 and U.S. 281 – according to a draft environmental report released Tuesday. The federal environmental report recommends that the new interstate enter Texas from the east at Shreveport, La., travel south near Houston and head west to near Laredo. At the eastern part of the state, it would also connect north to Interstate 30 near Texarkana. Tuesday's report – called a draft environmental impact statement – is far from the final word on exactly where the interstate will go. The draft...

With more than 1,000 people moving to Texas on a daily basis, a top state transportation official told an audience in Rosenberg Wednesday the I-69 portion of the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) will bring not only economic development, it will bring much-needed funds to Fort Bend County. Texas Transportation Commissioner Ted Houghton told business leaders attending the Fort Bend Regional Infrastructure Conference the TTC will act as a funding mechanism to allow construction and maintenance along the U.S. 59 corridor, as I-69 will incorporate the existing highway's “footprint”, drawing new highways, railways and utility rights of way along the route. “The...

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...

AUSTIN – A property rights bill that went awry and a mandate for the Trans-Texas Corridor to follow the state's existing highway system were among the 49 bills that fell victim to Gov. Rick Perry's veto pen on Friday. Mr. Perry targeted at least two bills that he believed would open the courthouse doors to more litigation, including a bill that would have provided a greater balance in eminent domain proceedings. The bill spelled out what public land uses were acceptable in order to take private land and provided more recourse for land owners. But a provision tacked onto the...

A bill that places a two-year moratorium on private toll road agreements in Texas was signed by Gov. Rick Perry on Monday. The bill, Senate Bill 792, was pushed by opponents of the Trans Texas Corridor, which is a proposed set of privately-funded toll roads throughout Texas. The final version of the bill represents a compromise between opponents of the TTC and Perry, its main backer. Specifically, the bill prevents the Texas Department of Transportation from entering what are called comprehensive development agreements, or CDAs, which are contracts for private companies to build and profit from toll roads in Texas....

For years, Fort Bend County officials enthusiastically supported the proposed I-69 highway, which would replace what is now U.S. 59. A promise of added lanes to the highway - and international trade - has been the driving force behind this initiative. Growing discontent over the direction of the project, however, led the county last year to decide against renewing membership with the non-profit, intergovernmental group that is pushing Interstate 69. And recently that same group was dealt a major blow with Harris County's decision to withdraw. County Judge Bob Hebert said the county pulled out not because of disagreement over...

The future of an interstate planned to run through Victoria appears murkier than ever. Harris County, a key point along the proposed Interstate 69 route, pulled out of the I-69 Alliance in mid-May. In an article in the May 15 Houston Chronicle, Bill Murphy and Rad Sallee wrote that Harris County pulled out of the I-69 Alliance after county commissioners decided too much was spent annually in membership costs. The county hopes that a bill in legislation right now is passed, because it would give them access to build a toll road as part of the Trans-Texas Corridor parallel to...

The state's ability to develop public-private partnerships - as envisioned with the Trans-Texas Corridor - is critical to complete long-sought transportation improvements and economic development from Laredo to north of Amarillo, according to the Ports-to-Plains Corridor Coalition. "Partnerships that pool federal, state, local and private sector resources will be needed to make Ports-to-Plains a reality and there are several opportunities for that to occur," said Michael Reeves, president of the Lubbock-based coalition. A new study prepared by Cambridge Systematics, Inc. for the Texas Department of Transportation concludes that enhancements to rail, electric transmission lines and highways would improve mobility, safety...

t was a quick-and-dirty job, but somebody had to do it. The "it" in this case was a cost comparison between expanding Interstate 35 beyond six lanes and building the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor twin to I-35. The "somebody" was HNTB Corp., which is serving as the Texas Department of Transportation's general engineering consultant on the I-35 corridor project. It was hired to do the comparison after skeptical Texas senators asked questions at a March 1 hearing. It doesn't take a doctorate in ethics to divine that HNTB, which produced a 101-page report plus hernia-inducing exhibits in just three weeks, might...

A two-year ban on long-term toll road leases with private companies, pockmarked with exceptions and thus largely symbolic, cleared a Texas Senate committee Wednesday on a unanimous vote. However, the more meaningful action on toll roads should begin in the next two weeks, when a large bill addressing a wide range of concerns over tollways will be introduced in the Senate. The much-publicized moratorium bill by Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, Senate Bill 1267, has an excellent chance of passing the Senate, given that 29 of 31 senators have either signed on as co-sponsors or voted for it in committee. But despite...

? 2007 WorldNetDaily.com Texas farmers are stepping up their opposition to the Trans-Texas Corridor, a massive highway project that ultimately could take about half a million acres of the state out of agricultural production ? and according to opponents possibly hasten the advent of a North American Union. "Our members are overwhelmingly opposed to the Trans-Texas Corridor," said Farm Bureau President Kenneth Dierschke, a grain and cotton farmer from San Angelo. "There's never been any doubt that the impact on agriculture would be negative, but now we see a growing number of people who believe the TTC would be bad...

MARSHALL — The proposed construction of Interstate 69 has been placed on a short list of projects that could receive preferential treatment over other transportation projects for federal funding, officials said. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters said this week that a final decision should be made this summer on which projects will be given the funding priority. If I-69 is selected by the U.S. Department of Transportation as part of the Corridors of the Future program, the federal department will aggressively support the project to move it "from the drawing board to completion faster than ever before," Peters said in...

The proposed I-69 project could be considered for "fast-track" development by the federal officials, stated Texas Department of Transportation officials this week. Dubbed the "Nafta highway," I-69 has been proposed as a transportation corridor running from the Texas border through Michigan and into Canada. The highway could eventually replace parts of U.S. 59 running through Texas. This summer, the U.S. Department of Transportation will be looking at a group of proposed, large-scale interstate highways for consideration as part of the Corridors of the Future program. Should I-69 be chosen as one of the Corridors, it would then receive "aggressive" support...

The development of the proposed Interstate 69 project running through Harrison County in Northeast Texas south through Houston and on to the Mexican border got a boost this week with the announced interest of at least two companies vying to complete parts of the project, state officials announced. Michael W. Behrens, Texas Department of Transportation executive director, said companies with Texas, U.S. and international experience are competing to develop the Trans-Texas Corridor-69 – one of the state's priority transportation projects. Two private sector groups submitted proposals and qualifications to compete for the development of the proposed multi-use transportation system. Harrison...

Victoria will consider today joining a growing list of South Texas organizations calling on the state to avoid taking more private property than necessary to create the proposed Interstate 69 highway. The city council is scheduled to vote on a resolution supporting development of I-69 along the existing sections of U.S. 59 and U.S. 77. That meeting, which is open to the public, will begin at 5 p.m. in the Council Chamber at 107 W. Juan Linn St. Mayor Will Armstrong said the Victoria County Commissioners Court has already passed a similar resolution, as have other organizations in the Rio...

As noted before in this space, the Victoria Advocate has serious reservations about Gov. Rick Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor. But one part of the proposal, as The Associated Press describes it, "to build 4,000-plus miles of tollways and railways that would incorporate oil and gas pipelines, utility and water lines, and even broadband data" does make considerable sense. The state's main north-south thoroughfare, running from the Red River north of Gainesville to Laredo on the Rio Grande, is already badly congested. And because it runs through the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Austin and San Antonio, Interstate 35 can only become more crowded....

Next time you're in a bottleneck on Interstate 35 and want to cuss someone, consider this: Those most responsible probably aren't within earshot. They include former President Clinton, whose signing of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement paved the way for a surge in truck traffic; Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, who helped convince then-Gov. Ann Richards to pull support for high-speed rail plans; and Ric Williamson, who as a member of the state House Appropriations Committee in the 1980s played a key role in diverting state gas taxes, a third of which now don't go to transportation. Such...

I-69 is dead. The TTC-69, however, remains alive and well. What exactly is the difference, between the Interstate and the Trans Texas Corridor projects? According to Nacogdoches Mayor Bob Dunn, the only difference is federal funding. And the absence of that funding, according to some, may be a blessing in disguise. Because the project will most likely be a state project, instead of a federal one, Dunn said, the "politics and red tape" will be dramatically reduced. TTC-69, has always been heralded as having enormous potential as a trade route. But Dunn said there is now a new reason that...

Now that Texas Gov. Rick Perry and other officials have pronounced “the federal funding genie” dead, as far as highway construction money goes, it's time to find another way to pay for Interstate 69. “By the time Washington funds I-69, we'll be driving around in hover cars or whatever,” Perry said Thursday during a meeting of I-69 Alliance members, including Lufkin Mayor Louis Bronaugh, in Houston. “The harsh reality is we cannot wait for Washington, D.C., to solve the problems of this state.” Perry wants to “resuscitate” I-69 by merging it with his proposed Trans Texas Corridor, which would combine...

Can't post the text for this one, since contents of the Monitor's website can't be reproduced without written permission. Here is the link: Lobbyists, local biz: I-69 still alive

‘I-69 is dead’ State, federal officials disagree on status of road By Matt Whittaker The Monitor WESLACO, November 9, 2005 — There are not enough federal dollars for an Interstate highway to the Rio Grande Valley, state officials said Tuesday “I-69 is dead in the state of Texas,” Texas Transportation Commissioner Ted Houghton told about 75 area city officials and business leaders at a lunch discussion about transportation issues. “The road fairy has been shot.” But federal lawmakers said the project to create an Interstate linking major commercial centers in Mexico, the United States and Canada is still alive and...

Ramiro Dela Fuente attended a recent forum on the proposed Interstate 69 highway, because like a lot of other people, he’s anxious about which route it might take. "Interstates bring commerce. Restaurants, hotels, stores start building up around them. That would be good for Harlingen," the 58-year-old Harlingen resident said. "We’ve been seeing the signs for future routes of I-69 everywhere, and we don’t know where it’s actually going." At this point, nobody really knows. What many agree on is this: The route that is eventually selected will become the gateway to the Rio Grande Valley. Will it be U.S....

Residents eye proposal for new highway project Dozens of area residents examined maps of proposed routes and discussed the implications of the proposed I-69 Trans-Texas Corridor at an open house Wednesday in Calallen. Still in its preliminary stages, the proposed highway will stretch from Mexico to Canada. In Texas, it generally will follow U.S. Highway 59 from Texarkana to Victoria. From there it will split and go to both Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley, roughly following U.S. Highways 59 and 77. The project is undergoing an environmental impact study, said Doug Booher, TXDOT environmental manager. Fred Wollmann, who lives...

The Texas Department of Transportation is in the process of identifying preliminary routes for its proposed Interstate 69/Trans-Texas Corridor, some of which could be located in Montgomery County. According to Gaby Garcia, spokeswoman for TxDOT's Turnpike Authority Division, TxDOT will conduct approximately 38 public meetings this summer, at which time the proposed routes would be unveiled. A public meeting is tentatively scheduled in Montgomery County in August, she said, although the date and time have not yet been determined. The initial study areas of the I-69/TTC corridor, which is to extend from Mexico to northeast Texas, range from 20 to...

With the nation's freeways clogged past the bursting point, and government funds barely able to maintain what exists, the need for a new transportation solution is increasingly dire. Better planning & usable transit are part of the equation but for the car-driving majority the increasingly likely solution is privatised toll roads.Before cringing at the thought of shelling out even more of your hard earned cash for commuting, ponder a few of the benefits: 1) It's a free market solution - you don't pay if you don't want to, and no taxes are needed - putting the cost of the roadway...

The latest, proposed route of the I-69 "NAFTA Highway" is slightly different from previous expectations, with a major segment skipping Fort Bend County. The NAFTA Highway is a proposal to link Mexico, the U.S. and Canada through a major highway starting at Laredo and Matamoros and running through Port Huron, Mich. The highway proposal also includes a separate route connecting the main corridor to the Houston Ship Channel, and that will likely run through Fort Bend County. For years, local officials have speculated the main corridor of the highway would run through Fort Bend County in place of U.S. 59....

MARSHALL – The U.S. House of Representatives has allotted $1.5 billion to build the Interstate 69 Trans-Texas Corridor project, and I-69 Alliance Chairman Robert Eckels believes the corridor will be built within the next 10 years. Eckels, who is also Harris County judge, spoke Wednesday at an alliance meeting in Marshall. He said about $40 million has already been allotted to the project for this fiscal year to pay for design studies. Texas legislators have also asked for an additional $55 million to be included the House Transportation Appropriations bill for the corridor. The U.S. Senate has not voted on...

Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday called his plan for a multi-billion dollar transportation corridor the only solution to the growing transportation needs of Texas. The Trans Texas Corridor proposal has been met with skepticism, and Perry addressed the issue before approximately 1,000 guests at a luncheon in the Sugar Land conference center on Thursday. The Trans Texas Corridor would run throughout the state in largely rural areas, possibly including Fort Bend County along the proposed I-69 corridor. The Trans Texas Corridor would include rail lines, tolled highways and utility lines, running adjacent to each other. Some have expressed concern at...

Texas transportation officials are expected to negotiate a plan this month that would launch the Trans-Texas Corridor, Gov. Rick Perry's grandiose vision of future transportation. The first planned route would run through Central Texas from Oklahoma to Mexico, and its first segment would be a four-lane toll road from Dallas to San Antonio. But officials in Houston and along the Gulf Coast are paying close attention. They're not alone. "The whole nation is watching Texas to see if we can pull it off," said Texas Transportation Commission Chairman Ric Williamson, Perry's appointee and go-to man for getting the corridor built....