"All of us who have opposed this for six years can breathe a collective sigh of relief," David Stall, a founder of CorridorWatch.org, said Tuesday afternoon.
State Rep. Ralph Sheffield, R-Temple, who predicted the demise of the plan in July, said, yes, even TTC progeny are dead, as well.
The eulogy will be said during a Texas Department of Transportation briefing this afternoon in Austin, according to a TxDOT spokesman.
In formal terms, the highway commission will tell the federal government to ditch environmental studies of the massive highway-rail-pipeline project first envisioned by Gov. Rick Perry, but effectively killed by legislators and other opponents.
The state will tell the feds that Texas is opting for the "no-action alternative" for federal involvement.
Use of those words specifically means it's truly dead, Stall said.
"Finally, it's not just lip service or something that can be reconstituted under another name or option," he said. "We're very pleased, and a little surprised."
Sheffield noted the deteriorating health of the project during a speech in July to local Rotarians. He said at the time that during the legislative session that ended in June, lawmakers put no money into the budget for the TTC and also killed any prospect for the state to work with developers to finance its construction using tolls.
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who is running against Perry in November, accused the governor of playing politics with the TTC.
Her campaign issued this statement Tuesday: "The Trans-Texas Corridor will not be officially dead until Rick Perry is no longer governor and his political appointees are no longer running TxDOT. Texans can't trust Rick Perry when it comes to protecting their land from the government, ceasing to lease our highways to foreign companies or ending the Trans-Texas Corridor."
Hutchison said today's announcement is "all for show."
The governor's press secretary issued the following via e-mail: "The Trans-Texas Corridor concept was retired in January, and TxDOT's announcement tomorrow is the next step in this process. The state of Texas will continue to build and improve our infrastructure to meet the needs of Texas and our growing population."
The aide did not return a phone call.
At the time the TTC was introduced, costs were estimated at $180 billion. The corridor, which would have cut a swath 1,200 feet wide across Central Texas, was to carry autos, trucks, trains and materials by pipeline.
In January, TxDOT announced it was abandoning the TTC, but wanted to build a 600-foot-wide replacement. That plan was called Innovative Connectivity.
Critics labeled it a boondoggle.
If Stall and Sheffield are right and TxDOT does what it says it will do today, that project is also dead.
