Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Proposed TTC triggers dispute between two regions of the state.

Texas regions clash over truck route

11/30/04

Associated Press
Copyright 2005

SAN ANTONIO - A Trans -Texas Corridor route that will carry billions of dollars in merchandise for trade with Mexico has triggered a dispute between two regions of the state.

The fear is that thousands of trucks will stop rolling through Laredo, Cotulla and Pearsall, instead taking an alternate path proposed by the state from Oklahoma to the Rio Grande Valley. The route was included by state transportation officials in their proposals for the new Trans -Texas Corridor .

Pearsall officials have passed resolutions in support of the River of Trade Corridor Coalition's effort to keep the Trans -Texas Corridor as close to the existing Interstate 35 as possible, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

The River of Trade Coalition was formed to defend the traditional NAFTA route, which is tied to Laredo and stretches north to Texarkana via Dallas.

"We don't want our money going to Hidalgo or Brownsville," Pearsall City Manager Albert Uresti said.

Michael Behrens, the Texas Department of Transportation's executive director, criticized the coalition's tactics.

The Associated Press: www.ap.org

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