[Dubya]

Even the governor's own party opposes the plan. The GOP platform drafted at last summer's state convention rejected it because of its effect on property rights.

Perry is undeterred. "I think it will be a model for future infrastructure construction in the world," he predicted.

[taxesareforever]

Environmentalists are worried about what it will do to the countryside.

Fancy that. Environmentalists are against anything that starts with the big P, Progress. What they really consider as progress is a super highway back to the Dark Ages.

[oceanview]

the NAFTA import boom, shifted to ports in California where the chinese stuff come in.

[zipcode101]

Perry is a mammoth failure. The Texas borders are like sieves and this guy wants to raise taxes to educate illegal aliens. He will soon be gone from the political scene and good riddance

[deport]

The title talks about I-69 but only one sentence in the entire article about it... I think the I-69 corridor is some 1600 miles from down in the valley to Port Huron, MI.

[GeronL]

Lets put everything in one place, that way the terrorists will leave them alone.

uh huh

[AgThorn]

Article Published: Thursday, December 30, 2004 - 2:15:39 AM EST [link]

Brattleboro Reformer

Texas seeks to build megahighways
By JIM VERTUNO
Associated Press

Thursday, December 30, 2004 - AUSTIN, Texas -- In what sounds like another tall tale told by a Texan, the Lone Star State has embarked on an audacious project to build superhighways so big, so complex, that they will make ordinary interstates look like cowpaths.

The Trans-Texas Corridor project, as envisioned by Republican Gov. Rick Perry in 2002, would be a 4,000-mile transportation network costing an awesome $175 billion over 50 years, financed mostly if not entirely with private money. The builders would then charge motorists tolls.

But these would not be mere highways. Proving anew that everything's big in Texas, they would be megahighways -- corridors up to a quarter-mile across, consisting of as many as six lanes for cars and four for trucks, plus railroad tracks, oil and gas pipelines, water and other utility lines, even broadband transmission cables.

Supporters say the corridors are needed to handle the expected NAFTA-driven boom in the flow of goods to and from Mexico and to enable freight haulers to bypass heavily populated urban centers on straight-shot highways that cut across the countryside.

The number of corridors and exactly where they would run have yet to be worked out. But the Texas Transportation Commission on Dec. 16 opened negotiations with the Spain-based consortium Cintra to start the first phase of the project, a $7.5 billion, 800-mile corridor that would stretch from Oklahoma to Mexico and run parallel to Interstate 35.

"Some thought the Trans-Texas Corridor was a pie-in-the-sky idea that would never see the light of day," said Perry, who has compared his plan to the interstate highway system started during the Eisenhower administration. "We have seen the future, and it's here today."

But as the plan rumbles along in the fast lane, some have called it a Texas-size boondoggle. Environmentalists are worried about what it will do to the countryside. Ranchers and farmers who stand to lose their land through eminent domain are mobilizing against it. Small towns and big cities alike fear a loss of business when traffic is diverted around them.

Even the governor's own party opposes the plan. The GOP platform drafted at last summer's state convention rejected it because of its effect on property rights. Perry is undeterred. "I think it will be a model for future infrastructure construction in the world," he predicted.

The tolls would represent a dramatic departure for Texas, which has traditionally relied on federal highway funding from gasoline taxes to build roads. But supporters say the combination of tolls and private money would allow Texas to pour concrete at a rate that would not be possible through gasoline taxes alone.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[HarryCaul]

Sure. Confiscate private land to build a project that will primarily direct profit to a private company. How about "no"?

[PAR35]

The tolls would represent a dramatic departure for Texas,

Texas has had toll roads for decades - so long that some of them have been paid off and converted to free roads.

[Cobra64]

These guys should call 1-800-BIG-DIIG, c/o Boston, MA.

[deport]

Northeast Texas to Mexico (I-69/TTC)

Interstate 69 is a planned 1,600-mile national highway connecting Mexico, the United States and Canada . Eight states are involved in the project: Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.

Three national studies conducted between 1995 and 2000 have confirmed the feasibility of this project and laid the groundwork for planning efforts at the state and regional level.

Once completed, I-69 will extend from Port Huron, Michigan to the Texas/Mexico border.

Each state will oversee development of its specific section of I-69 while ensuring coordination at the national level. In Texas , I-69 will be developed as part of the Trans-Texas Corridor, a proposed multi-use, statewide network of transportation routes that will incorporate existing and new highways, railways and utility right-of-ways. This section is currently referred to as the Northeast Texas to Mexico element, or I-69/TTC.

The majority of I-69 has not been constructed, and most states – including Texas – are currently undergoing detailed environmental and engineering studies to identify the preferred location of the future interstate.Though part of a larger, national project, I-69/TTC will be developed in Texas under the TTC master plan. A second corridor – the Oklahoma to Mexico/Gulf Coast element, or TTC-35 – is also under development. As other routes are identified, additional project pages will be added to this Web site.

---

http://www.nationali69.org/
The Interstate 69 Steering Committee is composed of representatives from the eight state departments of transportation in the Interstate 69 corridor -- Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas -- and from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) serves as Committee’s lead agency and provides administrative support.

[DBrow]

And if the project tanks, imagine the nifty airports we'd have!

And a new place to land the Shuttle, and imagine, instead of a quarter mile, a string of 25 mile drag strips!

NASCAR could go linear! Nnnnaoooowwww there goes the pack!

Sailplanes could use the huge black strip as a source of thermals!

SLAC and Los Alamos could use the center strip for a world-class LINAC!

The awesome benefits just boggle the mind.

[hermgem]

Southern States obviously have their mind made up on business growth continuance.
What has been confirmed by red voting State maps primarily in the South is business expansion above and beyond blue voting States.
Nothing wrong with planning to keep feeding what's already in growth motion to keep unemployment dropping further.

[marty60]

Spain huh.This is going no where. He better start talking to American Companies and fast. Texans love the Land. They'll keep this tied up in court till Perry is in anursing home.

[Dan from Michigan]

How can I-69 run paraell to I-35?

I-69 runs from Port Huron MI to Indianapolis.

[leadpenny]

Maybe not in this century but at some point the planet is going to say it has had enough concrete and asphalt poured on it's surface.

If it makes me an Environmentalist for saying that - so be it.

[tbird1]

ping

[kittymyrib]

Rick Perry better find himself a gig in D.C. because he will lose if he runs for re-election. He's really a Democrat who loves any big-spending plan that will help his cronies. Every highway in Texas is down to one lane somewhere along its course, making travel in the state not only inconvenient but dangerous. I would like to know the number of fatalities caused by road construction in the state. And they NEVER finish a project. The addition of lanes to I-45 linking Dallas to Houston has gone on for the SEVEN years we have lived near Corsicana! You'd think the fat-cat construction companies would be ashamed of their perpetual rip-off of the taxpayers of Texas. It's the Texas version of Boston's Big Dig.

[Doohickey]

A man in search of a legacy proposes a solution in search of a problem.

[Doohickey]

Okay, I have a question: Whatever happened to railroads? I've always been told that railroad is less expensive and faster for bulk transport of goods on a set schedule than long-haul trucking.

[MissAmericanPie]

Supporters say the corridors are needed to handle the expected NAFTA-driven boom in the flow of goods to and from Mexico and to enable freight haulers to bypass urban centers on straight-shot highways that cut across the countryside.

Yeah, like we "send" goods to Mexico. Jan. 25th is heading right at us as the time to pass the FTAA treaty. If you care about the USofA remaining a sovereign nation get on the phone to your congress critters and senators and promise them a recall if they pass this disaster of a treaty that our fore fathers warned us about.