Free Republic

AUSTIN - When it comes to road improvement and maintenance, by most accounts, the South Plains and Panhandle are fortunate. Despite a $1.1 billion accounting error, the Texas Department of Transportation recently reported no projects in the region have been canceled or delayed while cities like Dallas, Houston and Laredo had at least a half dozen highway projects delayed. But the $1.1 billion-error, which occurred because TxDOT inadvertently counted some bond money twice and consequently allocated more funding than it had, is just the latest problem plaguing the beleaguered agency. For months, TxDOT executive director Amadeo Saenz and other transportation...

UPDATE 03/15/2006 5:00 p.m. -- All of Lipscomb County, including the communities of Booker, Follett, Darrouzett and Higgins, as well as portions of Ochiltree County have been ordered to evacuate. Hwy 83 has been closed in the area. The fire is moving toward the Oklahoma border.