Carlos Guerra: Some Trans Texas Corridor details are being kept very quiet

San Antonio Express-News ^ | February 14, 2006 | Carlos Guerra

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Among the Trans Texas Corridor's most fervent opponents are farmers and ranchers who are closely tied to family land.

Many are like Susan Ridgeway Garry of Coupland, a small, rural community in the Austin area.

"When you say the Trans Texas Corridor 'will be built on state land handed to investors,' you leave out an important step," she wrote. "It is not currently state land, it is Texas citizens' land, some of which has been in the same family for generations."

Though they no longer farm, the Garrys live on land that has been in her husband's family for generations. But when the Texas Department of Transportation released a map of the planned corridor routes, they found their home within one of the corridor routes.

Like others throughout Texas, the Garrys joined neighbors in the Coupland Civic Organization.

"Little groups like ours are using the new technology to work together," she said. Through e-mails, they keep each other informed and reach out to educate others about what the corridor really is.

"People don't understand that (the Trans Texas Corridor) is not like the interstate, where there is access and communities along it prosper," she says. "This will cut off communities. It's a network of quarter-mile-wide dividing lines that will cut up the state, cut up agricultural areas and change the entire character of Texas."

Her points are amply detailed in "Crossroads of the Americas: Trans Texas Corridor," the Texas Department of Transportation's plans for the $184 billion project.

The state intends to take at least 548,000 acres of land — most of it from private owners through eminent domain — in swaths as wide as three football fields laid end to end. On the 4,000 miles of new right of way, the plans call for four sets of vehicular lanes, two rail lanes, and easements, both above and underground, for utilities.

The corridor will have no frontage roads, such as those along the interstate highway system that have fostered economic development in many communities.

Instead, vehicular access to the tollways will be only from interstate, U.S. and some state highways that intersect it through expensive interchanges.

Other intersecting roads — such as farm-to-market roads, county roads, local highways and two-lane state highways — will not provide access to the corridor. Instead, expensive "flyovers" will have to be built over the wide corridor for the larger roads, and smaller roads will simply end at the corridor's edge.

As planned, corridor routes will be leased to private-sector interests that will not only collect the vehicular tolls, but will also benefit from railway and utility leases and from real estate development within the right of way, such as motels, gas stations and eateries.

And even though decisions are being made and deals are being cut, many important details about the project are very hard to get.

"The corridor's Draft Environmental Impact Statement was due in December and it's not out," Garry said, explaining that it will more precisely plot the final route of the corridor. "My husband and I filed an open records request to see it," she says, "and TxDOT sent a letter saying they referred our request to the attorney general for an opinion on whether they must let us see it."

I know how frustrating that can be. And I hope the Garrys aren't too surprised if they don't see it until after the November election.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Trans-Texas Corridor PING!

[Sarajevo]

The TTC is Perry's abortive attempt to transfer private property into a land-grab for foreign interests.

[Adrastus]

put me on the ping list for TTC info. This sounds like something that needs fighting.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

You're on.

[DumpsterDiver]

This is a related thread:

The NAFTA Corridors: Offshoring U.S. Transportation Jobs to Mexico

Like the railway, the largest NAFTA highways converge and cross the international border at Laredo. In Mexico, the NAFTA highways are part of the Federal Highway System, while in the United States they represent some of the most heavily traveled sections of the Interstate Highway System, most notably, I-35 which runs through the center of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas and has been dubbed the "NAFTA Superhighway."

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[hedgetrimmer]

FYI

Quantm Ltd., the leader in transportation route optimization, today announced the appointment of Tom Clemons as Vice President, Business Development -- North America. Building on the rapid adoption of Quantm's road and rail planning technology in 14 U.S. States, Clemons will be responsible for further growing Quantm's business with transportation infrastructure planning departments throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.

"Quantm's success around the globe is well-deserved. Already in North America, multiple state and local transportation departments rely on Quantm to ensure compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Section (4f) of the Department of Transportation Act.

Major transportation infrastructure projects in the U.S. using Quantm today include the Southern California's Foothill Transportation Corridor-South highway, California's High Speed Rail, the Goose Creek Bypass highway in Idaho and the I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor. Statewide agreements have been established with the Alaska Department of Transportation and the Texas Department of Transportation.

[BJClinton]

This sounds like something that needs fighting.

In its current form it sure does. No frontage roads and few bridges mean this will wreck many small communities. We certainly need a new highway system for this century but this is not it.

[hedgetrimmer]

Private Investors May Build East-West Road

The Florida Legislature approved a bill last year that allows public-private partnerships - also known as P3 concessions - for new road construction

Public/private partnerships dismantle constitutional government and replace it with corporate fascism.

[hedgetrimmer]

Despite ardent opposition to Gov. Rick Perry's Trans Texas Corridor transportation plan, the political arm of the Texas Farm Bureau has decided to endorse Perry's bid for re-election.

This doesn't make any sense. Eminent domain and water rights battles are among the most significant domestic battles of our time. The Farm Bureau should oppose Perry. He's going to pull a 'Bush' on Texas conservatives and hurt land owners.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[unixfox]

We certainly need a new highway system mode of transportation for this century but this is not it.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

You're welcome. :-)

[Darnright]

Bump for later read

[demkicker]

Please add me to the TTC ping list too. If this goes through it will be a travesty for our beloved Lone Star State. The masses better start getting vocal and demanding answers over this ridiculous land grab.

Until Texans are educated about the real costs of this ill conceived project, the pols will continue lining their pockets and turning deaf ears our way.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

You've been added.

[MarshallDillon]

I heard Jack Blood on 100.1 FM today. An engineer is going public regarding falsified records for aggregate strength on the TTC.
See http://www.jackblood.com & http://www.infowars.com for search details.

Personally, after the primary, I intend to attend the Republican caucus with a number of fellow patriots. Doing away with the TTC, electronic ballots and liars in our party has to start at home.