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I-69 appears tied to U.S. 59 route
By BRENDA ALLUMS
news1@kilgorenewsherald.com
TYLER -- The exact location of I-69 will ultimately be decided by local citizens.
Judge Robert Eckels, a member of the I-69 Coalition, was one of the panelists during a transportation summit sponsored by East Texas Council of Governments (ETCOG) and the East Texas Rural Transit District recently.
“We are currently held hostage by the west coast ports,” Eckels said. “We need access from the port of Houston to supply the central U.S. and Canada.”
Eckels said it makes sense that the most cost-effective sections that will allow early implementation of I-69 be constructed first.
This is where the Right Corner I-69 Alliance comes in .
“This is a collaborative effort of representatives of the governing bodies of East Texas through which the west leg of I-69 will pass,” Eckels said.
The proposed 1-69 corridor includes five East Texas counties including Panola, Harrison, Jefferson, Cass and Bowie. If built along the current corridor, it will essentially follow US 59 to from Houston to Texarkana.
A rumor has been circulating that the I-69 corridor in these five counties would be moved further west to encompass parts of Gregg and posibly Smith counties.
“This is a rumor,” County Judge Bill Stoudt said. “All of us on the I-69 Alliance are committed to the program and to the original site.”
“Representatives of these counties recognize that it will be advantageous to their communities to have this major transportation artery pass through or very near their communities,” he said.
Eckels said representatives of these communities also “believe that expedient and cost-effective implementation of this trade route will be advantageous to the region, the nation and the three countries that are partners in NAFTA. -- the U.S., Mexico and Canada.”
Eckels explained I-69 is a 1,600-mile national highways connecting Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. Eight states including Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas are involved in the project.
Three national studies conducted between 1995 and 2000 confirmed the feasibility of the project and laid the groundwork for planning efforts at state and regional levels.
“Once completed, I-69 will extend from Port Huron, Mich., to the Texas/Mexico border,” Eckels said. “Each state will oversee development of its specific section while ensuring coordination at the national level”
In Texas, I-69 is being developed as part of the Trans-Texas Corridor, a proposed multi-use, statewide network for transportation routes that will incorporate existing and new highways, rails and utility rights-of-ways.
“This section is currently referred to as the Northeast Texas to Mexico element, or I-69/TTC,” Eckels said. “The majority of I-69 has not been constructed, and most of the states, including Texas, are currently undergoing detailed environmental and engineering studies to identify the preferred location of the future interstate.”
Eckels noted that the program is part of a national project. The I-69/TTC will be developed in Texas under the TTC Master Plan.
Legislation that provided for the construction of I-69 established that the highway will be split in the eastern part of Texas with the western leg of the split staying in Texas and tying into I-30 in Texarkana.
The eastern leg of the split is planned to follow a new route to Shreveport and on to Memphis where it will tie into I-40.
“I-69 will become the transportation artery that provides primary link between the three nationas,” Eckels said. “All parts of I-69 need to be built ultimately, but it makes sense that the most cost-effective sections, that will allow early implementation of the highway, be constructed first.”
Eckels said the most cost-effective construction method is to build the west leg first.
“Traffic and trade will be able to flow freely on an unimpeded route while the environmental studies are completed, rights-of ways acquired and construction is completed on the eastern leg,” Eckels said.
He said the purpose of I-69 will be “accomplished much sooner with construction of the western leg and later enhanced after the eastern leg is finally completed.”
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Trans-Texas Corridor PING!
Meeting in Austin, the Texas Transportation Commission selected Raytheon Co.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall reading that Raytheon is the company which manufacturers the implantable Verichip.
This toll road is becoming more ominous every day.
The average Texan and average traveler will take a screwing on this Spanish owned toll road. Which is being built mainly to facilitate movement of goods from Mexico to the US with a smaller volume going the other direction. If you don't count illegal aliens headed north