Texas Department of Transportation officials announced Tuesday the mammoth project would no longer be called TTC and would undergo more substantial changes.
TxDOT Executive Director Amadeo Saenz unveiled the updated version now known as the Innovative Connectivity in Texas/Vision 2009 at the fourth annual Texas Transportation Forum.
The corridor would be half as wide, narrowing from the proposed 1,200 feet to 600 feet.
Other changes revealed in the new TxDOT plan include the continued use of existing highway infrastructure, an altered timeline for development, and increased involvement of local officials and citizens in planning major corridor facilities in their communities.
“Texans have spoken, and we’ve been listening,” Saenz said. “Citizens across the state have had good ideas about how Texas roads can better serve Texas communities. I believe this transformed vision for the TTC and other major corridor development goes a long way toward addressing the concerns we’ve heard over the past several years.”
Much of the projected work for the former TTC centered on Interstates 35 and 69.
Perry, who is in Iraq on a Department of Defense governor’s delegation mission, said that although the name will change, TxDOT is moving in the right direction.
“The fact of the matter is that we don’t really care what name they attach to building infrastructure in the state of Texas,” Perry said. “The key is that we have to go forward.”
Perry introduced the proposed $180 billion plan, calling for significant upgrades in infrastructure that would help ease the traffic congestion in areas of Austin and San Antonio by widening I-35, as well as building more utility and rail lines alongside the proposed new highway.
Portions of the massive project are in the infant stages of development, some still undergoing federal environmental impact review.
The outcome, as well as public input, will ultimately determine the final route alignment.
Members of the Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission, vocal opponents of the Trans-Texas Corridor, question whether Tuesday’s announcement is nothing more than a clever political maneuver right before the 81st Legislature session begins next week, said a press release from its president, Mae Smith.
Perry said he did not rule out the use of toll roads to help pay for some of these infrastructure improvements, especially since the federal government had failed on its part to help fund interstate highway projects.
“We have to look at some other options,” Perry said. “If members of the Legislature have some concepts and ideas that have not been vetted or have not been thought of yet, then we are certainly open to new ways to fund or new ways to construct these . . . highways, so we can continue to be a growing and prosperous state.”
To learn more about the Innovative Connectivity in Texas/Vision 2009 plan, log on to www.txdot.gov.
