Transportation department says it's not scouting land for new corridor (Trans-Texas Corridor)

The Texas Department of Transportation went on the offensive Friday to quash rumors that it was surveying land in Central Texas for the Trans-Texas Corridor or preparing to acquire property for the proposed tollway project.

“We have taken this unusual means of releasing a special statement to assure the people of Bell and McLennan counties that this rumor is untrue,” the department said in a statement.

Some local officials and corridor critics said they had encountered similar rumors, which they attributed to uneasy landowners who fear the state's plan to build a 1,200-foot-wide network of roads, railway and utility infrastructure roughly paralleling Interstate 35.

“Any time landowners see (the transportation department) surveying, they get nervous,” McLennan County Commissioner Wendall Crunk said. “It's the fear of the unknown that's causing landowners problems.”

Spokeswoman Gaby Garcia said the department had received calls in Austin and at district offices about the possibility that survey crews around Waco and Temple had represented themselves as department employees or said they were working on the Trans-Texas Corridor.

“I don't know quite where these rumors come from, other than they are rumors,” Garcia said. “The department is in no way, shape or form close to any right-of-way negotiations, procedures or action.”

Gov. Rick Perry proposed the corridor in 2002 as a means for alleviating I-35 traffic and accommodating growth. The Legislature has since authorized the corridor's creation, and the Texas Transportation Commission has entered into negotiations with Cintra-Zachry, a development consortium, to fund the road's construction in exchange for operating the corridor as a toll way.

Parts of a 50-mile-wide study area for the corridor run through McLennan and Bell counties, and now the department is conducting an “environmental assessment” to narrow the potential route to a 10-mile-wide area from which the final alignment would be selected.

The department hopes to settle on its 10-mile-wide study area by late fall, but it also estimates that the final alignment will not be identified for four years.

“If we don't even know where it's going to go, how can we determine if we need someone's property?” Garcia said.

Crunk, who spearheaded a commissioners court resolution opposing the corridor concept, said he had been contacted by a few rural residents with concerns about surveying activity along County Road 107 in eastern McLennan County. He said he did not believe it was related to the corridor.

The rumor also made its way to Chris Hammel, a board member of the Bell County opposition group Blacklands Coalition. Coalition members told him they saw surveying activity on Farm-to-Market Road 2268 near Holland, he said.

Hammel said he drove by the site and saw survey markers, but he did not assume any connection with the Trans-Texas Corridor.

“I have no earthly idea what it was for,” he said. “It would be rash to say it had something to do with the transportation department.”

From KWTX-TV Channel 10:

TXDOT Tries To Quash Rumors About Land Acquisition

The state has no immediate plans to purchase of condemn property in Bell or McLennan Counties for the proposed Trans Texas Corridor project, the Texas Department of Transportation said in a prepared statement released Friday afternoon.

“We have taken this unusual means of releasing a special statement to assure the people of Bell and McLennan counties that this rumor is untrue. We have no such plans,” TXDOT said in the statement.

“It is true that since early 2002 we have been talking about the great need for the Trans-Texas Corridor, but we do not even know where the corridor will be located, much less where we may need right of way,” the statement said.

A federally mandated environmental process that will determine “the final alignment of the I-35 component of the corridor” will take at least four years to complete, said Phil Russell, director of TxDOT's Turnpike Authority Division.

Not until then would land acquisition begin.

“We have no idea where this rumor began and regret that there are those who find it necessary to spread misinformation apparently calculated to prey on the fears of Texas landowners,” TXDOT said.

“Whatever its origin, this rumor should quickly be relegated to the recycling bin. “

The Texas Department of Transportation signed a contract in April with the Cintra-Zachry consortium for planning on the controversial project, the most ambitious highway construction effort since the Eisenhower administration launched the effort to build an interstate highway system.

The $184 billion plan calls for a 4,000-mile network of transportation corridors that would crisscross the state with separate highway lanes for passenger vehicles and trucks, passenger rail, freight rain, commuter rail and dedicated utility zones.

Designers envision a corridor with six separate passenger vehicle lanes and four commercial truck lanes; two high speed passenger rail lines, two freight rain lines and two commuter rail lines and a utility zone that will accommodate water, electric, natural gas, petroleum, fiber optic and telecommunications lines.

Under the agreement, Cintra-Zachry will begin work on a master development plan for the first segment of the corridor, which will parallel Interstate 35 from San Antonio to Oklahoma.

The plan will take 12 to 15 months to complete, Perry’s office said.

Cintra, which is an international engineering and construction firm, and the San Antonio-based Zachry Construction Corporation, have agreed to provide $7.2 billion for construction of the first six segments of the project, Perry’s office said.

Cintra will spend $6 billion to build a four-lane toll road on the corridor and will pay the state $1.2 billion in return for the exclusive rights to operate the toll road for 50 years.

Cintra would also operate businesses along the route.

Officials in Interstate 35 corridor cities such as Waco and Dallas are concerned about the commercial impact of the project.

McLennan County Commissioners approved a resolution in February opposing the corridor.

The Waco-based Texas Farm Bureau also opposes the project because of concerns about the loss of farm and ranchland and the impact of the construction on the tax base of Texas counties and communities.

Click Here For Interactive Map Of Proposed Corridor Route

Click Here For Trans-Texas Corridor Web Site

Click Here For Background Information On The Trans-Texas Corridor

Click Here For An Opposing Point Of View From Corridor Watch

From the Longview News-Journal:

Hutchison touts I-69 project at regional transportation meeting

By MELISSA TRESNER

Saturday, August 20, 2005

TYLER – Planes, trains and automobiles were the topics of discussion for U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and local and state lawmakers Friday at a regional transportation summit in Tyler.

Hutchison, R-Texas, who outlined recent federal transportation legislation, was the keynote speaker during the daylong conference at Tyler's Holiday Inn Select.

“Transportation is our lifeblood, and we will never walk away from our responsibility to protect it,” Hutchison said on behalf of her colleagues in Washington.

Sponsored by the East Texas Council of Governments and the East Texas Rural Transit District, Destination East Texas: “Moving People” attracted about 230 city and county officials in addition to industry leaders and experts. Topics ranged from passenger rail service in East Texas, airport planning, alternative fuels and the proposed Interstate 69 corridor, which would link Mexico to Canada and go through this part of the state.

U.S. Congressman Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, while not on the program, made a stop at the conference, saying opportunities for regional planning are never wasted.

“It does my heart good to see cities like Tyler and Longview working together. What a great opportunity,” he said.

Hutchison said the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill was good news for Texas because the state's share of highway funding increased by almost $800 million to about $2.89 billion annually.

Texas' rate of return will increase from 90.5 cents for every dollar to 92 cents within six years, she said.

Hutchison said the $50 million I-69 project will be good for Texas because 80 percent of traffic from Mexico comes through Texas.

The high traffic boosts the state's economy, but it also means more wear and tear for Texas highways, she said. The I-69 project will alleviate some of the congestion and road wear on highways already in place.

Hutchison, interrupted by applause several times during her 20-minute speech, said funding is a critical issue, but she doesn't believe it should come from tolls on interstates.

“I don't want tolls on federal highways. Period. End of statement,” Hutchison said.

Hutchison expressed her opinions about rail travel, as well, saying more people would take advantage of Amtrak's passenger rail if it were more reliable.

“If we had a fair shot at on-time performance and funding, Amtrak would be a viable transportation opportunity,” she said.

She said the federal government spends $40 billion annually on highways, $15 billion on airports and only $1 billion on Amtrak.

During eight break-out sessions throughout the day, local leaders and transportation officials met in smaller groups of about 10 to 30 to discuss a variety of issues.

Dietrich Johnson, the director of public transportation for the city of Longview, sat on one panel devoted to developing a regional transit plan for East Texas.

Officials from the city of Denton were on-hand in another morning session titled "Making the Transition to Alternative Fueled Vehicles" to give East Texas city council members and county commissioners a glimpse of Denton's newly-opened Biodiesel Production Facility. The city's solid waste fleet runs off the biodiesel blend produced on-site with – among other things – used cooking oil from restaurants.

The Northeast Texas Regional Mobility Authority, a three-year-old collaboration project between Smith and Gregg counties and the cities of Tyler and Longview, also was among session topics.

Robert Nichols, a former TxDOT commissioner, spoke during the lunch hour about the Trans-Texas Corridor plan.

He said the state needs a highway system that will support its population and its projected populations for the future. In 2050, it is expected that 40 million people, nearly twice the current number, will reside in Texas.

“What are we going to do with them? We've got to take different approaches. We've got to plan for the future,” Nichols said.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.