Posted on 11/14/2008 7:22:52 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
A citizens committee appointed by the Texas Department of Transportation has issued a series of recommendations on what should be done to deal with increasing congestion on Interstate 35, 1200 WOAI news reports.
The committee said stretches of Interstate 35, which runs from Laredo to Gainesville and is the most heavily traveled Interstate highway in the country, have 'pushed the limit of the road's design capacity.'
Gabby Garcia of TxDOT says the committee reacted strongly against Governor Perry's 'Trans Texas Corridor' toll road plan, saying the TTC 'has come to represent what Texans do not want in transportation project delivery. The TTC lacks public and political support.'
The committee recommended that even the name 'Trans Texas Corridor' be abolished.
The main focus of the committee was to determine how to deal with increasing levels of congestion on 35.
"Looking at expansion where it is appropriate, and using existing right of way where possible," Garcia said.
But beyond that, the committee recommended studying passenger rail along the I-35 corridor, HOV lanes, and even additional toll lanes where necessary, but Garcia said the committee said TxDOT needs to do more to make sure local communities support radical departures like toll roads.
"It has to include the local community, to make sure they are part of the process."
The committee repeatedly took TxDOT to task for not gaining public support when suggesting new toll lanes, or major new toll roads like the TTC.
The committee said any funding allocated to I-35 should stay on I-35 and not be siphoned off to other projects for political purposes. It said more consideration should be given to aesthetics as the highway enters a community.
Due to the existence of frontage roads, with businesses built right on the highway, many motorists say Texas' Interstate highways are the ugliest in the country. In other states, traffic is routed onto side streets and businesses are located there, allowing for landscaping along the expressway.
The committee also recommended the construction of new bridges into Mexico on the south end of I-35 in Laredo, and improved freight rail between Austin and San Antonio.
Trans-Texas Corridor PING!
Really?
Perry and TDOT still taking the Saudis money I see.
If they did away with the frontage roads, they would have plenty of space to improve the highway.
High speed rail would be a good idea, as long as it doesn't turn into some government boondogle.
Even if they dumped the frontage roads (which I don’t think is a great idea), I don’t know that they would have enough space. 35 really should be a superslab, 4-6 lanes each way, all the way from Dallas on South. You’re looking at a lot of bridges from Dallas to Waco alone...
Yeah, we really do need high speed rail in Texas linking the major cities. God alone knows how many times I’ve had to drive to Waco or Austin at the last minute to fix something for a client.
“The committee also recommended the construction of new bridges into Mexico on the south end of I-35 in Laredo.”
What about “OUT of Mexico. Are these bridges two way bridges?
I 35 through Austin is a death trap any time of the day. Was in an accident on that road. Too many big trucks and cars on that double decker road; bumper to bumper trucks/cars all going fast. There has to be a by-pass around Austin for I 35 through Austin cannot be expanded.
TTC - the best & fastest way to move jobs to mexico so we can move the freight faster north
also, the greatest gov land grab from private citizens in USA history
BTTT
Sure you do. Is the rail going to take you from your front door to the client's front door or do you need to rent a car, take a cab or bus from the rail station. Just wondering.
The reason we don't have rail is because of the way our cities are built and how the distances travelled have become greater between the center of the cities and the suburbs. That is unless you'd like to live in downtown Dallas/Houston etc... Then we can look forward to the life of the Big Apple. Packed in like sardines and crammed one on top of the other.
I'll take a pass.
The commute from Killeen to Waco really sucks.
A simple solution to your objection would be to run the rail lines to the major airports, where one can do something radical like “rent a car”.
Or do you also feel that people should not fly?
Actually, I imagine that solutions would present themselves. If high speed rail existed, car rental companies and car services would probably love to set up shop outside the terminals.
no, I think that's the smartest solution. It just doesn't "get rid" of traffic in the city. Unless you have the infrastructure to go from point to point then I just don't see the market based solution.
As an example, the Southwest Airlines president stated that he was never competing against other airlines in Texas, he was competing with cars.
The infrastructure is expensive, the unions control the employees and gas is relatively cheap. So unless the convenience of the rail outweighs that of the car, well then you get the Amtrak boondoggle.
From my point of view, high speed rail in Texas’ point is not to reduce traffic in the cities themselves but to reduce traffic on the limited highways between cities. And at night, it could be used to ship light freight and mail between Texas cities, a task currently done by tractor trailers.
Also, Texas is union-hostile.
As an example, I travel 12-13 times per year in order to attend athletic events that may take from 2-4 days. Now with equipment/baggage/nutrition/fluids/computer/and "stuff"... it would be a pain in the neck to load it on a train after taking it to the station. Then load it all back onto a car/truck and then go to the events. It's just more convenient to throw it all in the back of my crew cab truck and go.
Same for hunting trips and trips to South Padre/Corpus Christi/San Antonio. ..... convenience. Now the mail/freight/other deliveries... sure why not rail. But nothing beats the convenience of leaving when I want and just going. Freedom. I'm on my own schedule. Same with busses. I try to get to work 20 minutes early and I don't want to be crammed next to some strangers on my way in that may mug me or just get in my bubble.
That's why I hated living up north. It was a Pain in the a##. I NEVER will live north of the Red River, east of the Sabine, west of the Pecos and south of the Rio Grande. I've been packed in like a sardine in several cities in the northeast, florida, and california. I've found right where I need to be and it isn't in a place that I HAVE to be packed in a wheeled or railed box with strangers everyday.
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