Free Republic

Report says that more than $45 billion of the estimate is either in error or undocumented. The state auditor's office on Monday challenged the validity of more than half of a purported $86 billion shortfall in Texas transportation funding over the next generation and cautioned that the estimate "may not be reliable for making policy or funding decisions." That $86 billion, based on 2004 figures, has been cited repeatedly by Texas Department of Transportation officials and some legislators as a major reason for the state's increasing need for new toll roads. The number is a compilation of estimates from local...

A State Auditor’s Office report on the Texas Department of Transportation and the Trans-Texas Corridor set for public release today estimates a $105.6 billion price tag for the TTC-35 portion alone of the massive transportation project. The TTC-35 represents 14 percent, or 560 miles, of the Trans-Texas Corridor’s proposed 4,000 miles of roadway criss-crossing the state. A 2002 estimate by TxDOT placed the cost for the entire Trans-Texas Corridor at between $145 and $184 billion. Taken as a whole, the Trans-Texas Corridor on its completion could become “the longest network of toll roads in the world,” according to the audit....

In the past weeks we have been looking at the historic and needs perspective of the Trans Texas Corridor. Lets examine if the project is enough to help with traffic and examine economic growth. In 2007 there are 80 thousand vehicles that travel along 35 in Waco everyday. The TTC-35 project would leave I-35 as it is for the most part, but would add this 12 lane superhighway with a commuter train just east of 35. Opponnents say look at the cost. Linda Stall with Corridor Watch says, "This is a huge project. 184 billion dollars, it's a 50 year...

News Release from TxDOT:TTC-35 will be 10 miles wide.Response: No. If federally approved, the study area would be 10 miles wide. Then, additional studies would be conducted within the 10-mile wide study area to identify a final route. If roads, rail and a utility corridor are located adjacent to each other, TTC-35 would be no more than 1,200 feet wide. Also, where existing roads and railways can be incorporated, the amount of right of way needed would be less.TxDOT already knows the location of the project and will direct Cintra Zachry where to build it.Response: No. The location of TTC-35...

Public hearings on a narrowed study area and alternatives for the Trans-Texas Corridor-35 will be held in the future, after work is completed on the draft environmental impact statement, TxDOT officials said in a press release. TxDOT, in consultation with the Federal Highway Administration, has identified areas under consideration and these are in a 4,000-page draft environmental impact statement covering a 10-miles wide study area and including information on criteria such as natural and cultural resources. TTC-35 extends from Oklahoma and Mexico on a highway with less entrance and exit ramps than currently built on state and interstate highways. It...