Free Republic

Local toll authority likely to carry more of the burden for designing, building second wave of Austin-area toll roads The Texas Department of Transportation after February will cease awarding contracts for new or expanded roads, a belt-tightening that probably will indefinitely delay a number of Central Texas highway projects. Work on some local projects, such as widening FM 1460 between Round Rock and Georgetown, RM 2338 in Williamson County, and Texas 195, which runs from Interstate 35 in Williamson County to Killeen, will be shelved for now. In addition, the edict will force Central Texas' local toll authority to carry...

TEL AVIV — Hamas intends to adopt the Hizbullah model in the Palestinian war against Israel. Officials said the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority would facilitate intensified missile attacks as well as infiltration of Israel. They said Hamas has been impressed by the Hizbullah war in Lebanon. "The accent will be on better equipment and training," an official said. "We expect to see anti-tank missiles, roadside bombs and greater use of tunnels to infiltrate Israel." Officials said Hamas has been smuggling a range of rockets into Israel. They said they included the Soviet-origin BM-21 Grad. "They are smuggling Katyushas and Grad missiles...

Get ready. TTC-35 is coming. Though Michael Behrens wouldn't use those words, not exactly, and he'd probably cringe to realize it, that's the impression he left at the end of an hour and a half of questioning Thursday. "Something is going to have to be built somewhere," the executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation said after meeting in Cameron with a group of reporters from several rural newspapers. There was touch of resignation in his voice when he said it. The Trans Texas Corridor is a proposed multi-lane transportation network designed to carry passenger, freight, rail and utilities....