In the path of TTC-35: 48% are minorities and 24% are below the poverty line.
Study shows road's possible path
Apr. 05, 2006
By GORDON DICKSON
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Copyright 2006
D/FW AIRPORT -- More than 2,400 square miles of prime farmland, 13 square miles of parks and 63 landfills are potentially in the path of a proposed toll road from North Texas to Laredo, according to an environmental study released Tuesday.
Nearly 1 million Texans live in the study area, which closely parallels Interstate 35 from San Antonio to Waco, and Interstate 35E east of Dallas to Gainesville. At least 46 threatened or endangered plant and animal species call it home, too.
Those are among the details in a draft environmental impact statement released by the Federal Highway Administration.
The document brings Texas Department of Transportation officials closer to their goal of opening the futuristic tollway by 2015. A private team, Cintra Zachry, has been hired to plan the $6 billion highway. The mission is to relieve congestion and move much of the heavy truck traffic from the Interstate 35 corridor across the state.
But North Texas officials aren't happy that Cintra Zachry, and state and federal leaders declined to follow the recommendations of the Metroplex's Regional Transportation Council, which proposed building the project through the heart of Dallas-Fort Worth -- to complement, not replace, the existing transportation grid.
"We are very disappointed that the focus appears to be where it is, and that's east of the Metroplex," Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce President Bill Thornton said after the 4,000-page environmental document was unveiled at the Grand Hyatt DFW hotel at D/FW Airport.
"Our responsibility is to make sure the western part of the Metroplex story is told, and we're going to make sure that's done," he said. "We're going to offer up recommendations that, quite frankly, they can't say no to."
Final approval of the first Trans-Texas environmental study is not expected for at least a year -- and then a second, more detailed study would be conducted to choose a precise location for the road. Right now, it could be built anywhere within a 10-mile-wide path.
The paperwork process could last until 2011, then construction would take several more years, officials said.
More than 50 public hearings will be held in cities along I-35 beginning in June, including at least five in and around Tarrant County, officials said.
The study didn't address a proposed rail line around southwest Fort Worth, which Cintra Zachry announced last month that it wanted to add to the project. That rail line would relieve freight-train gridlock in Tarrant County, especially at Tower 55 near downtown Fort Worth, and could eventually be accompanied by a toll road looping around the southwestern edge of Fort Worth, said Texas Transportation Commission Chairman Ric Williamson, of Weatherford.
State officials will seriously consider changing the Trans-Texas route to reflect the Metroplex's wishes after hearing testimony from Texans this summer, Williamson said.
"It's never been our intention to divide the state into factions," Williamson said.
However, in making decisions about the location of the toll road, the goal will be to improve mobility statewide, he said.
"We are stewards of the entire transportation system," Williamson said. "The best interests of the state will always trump what's in the best interests of a community along the way."
It's not practical to continue expanding I-35, agency director Michael Behrens said.
"Due to economic development along the interstate, space for expansion is limited," he said.
After Tuesday's announcement, opponents held their own news conference in an adjacent hotel conference room. Many are members of the Dallas NAFTA Trade Corridor Coalition, which prefers to keep truck traffic on Metroplex highways.
Bill Blaydes, a Dallas City Council member, described the Trans-Texas Corridor as a "transfer of wealth" from the Metroplex to rural areas.
Dallas County Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield said he was surprised Cintra Zachry didn't embrace North Texas' regional plan.
"We are sorely disappointed," he said. "We gave our input. It was apparently ignored."
Other facts in the study:
The toll road would be 521 miles long. Most of it would be new road, but the project would incorporate an existing portion of I-35 from San Antonio to Laredo.
Of the 980,667 people who live in the path, 48 percent are minorities and 24 percent are below the poverty level.
The route includes five federally recognized historic sites of 23 acres or greater.
The route would traverse three major and six minor aquifers.
Texans who want to read the environmental study can access it online at www.dot.state.tx.us -- but be warned, including appendices, it's about 4,000 pages long.
Residents can click on maps and see how close their property is to the route, which has now been narrowed to about 10 miles.
Paper copies of the study will be available at area libraries within days, state officials say.
Source: Texas Dept. of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration
Gordon Dickson, (817) 685-3816 gdickson@star-telegram.com
© 2006 Fort Worth Star-Telegram: www.dfw.com
Apr. 05, 2006
By GORDON DICKSON
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Copyright 2006
D/FW AIRPORT -- More than 2,400 square miles of prime farmland, 13 square miles of parks and 63 landfills are potentially in the path of a proposed toll road from North Texas to Laredo, according to an environmental study released Tuesday.
Nearly 1 million Texans live in the study area, which closely parallels Interstate 35 from San Antonio to Waco, and Interstate 35E east of Dallas to Gainesville. At least 46 threatened or endangered plant and animal species call it home, too.
Those are among the details in a draft environmental impact statement released by the Federal Highway Administration.
The document brings Texas Department of Transportation officials closer to their goal of opening the futuristic tollway by 2015. A private team, Cintra Zachry, has been hired to plan the $6 billion highway. The mission is to relieve congestion and move much of the heavy truck traffic from the Interstate 35 corridor across the state.
But North Texas officials aren't happy that Cintra Zachry, and state and federal leaders declined to follow the recommendations of the Metroplex's Regional Transportation Council, which proposed building the project through the heart of Dallas-Fort Worth -- to complement, not replace, the existing transportation grid.
"We are very disappointed that the focus appears to be where it is, and that's east of the Metroplex," Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce President Bill Thornton said after the 4,000-page environmental document was unveiled at the Grand Hyatt DFW hotel at D/FW Airport.
"Our responsibility is to make sure the western part of the Metroplex story is told, and we're going to make sure that's done," he said. "We're going to offer up recommendations that, quite frankly, they can't say no to."
Final approval of the first Trans-Texas environmental study is not expected for at least a year -- and then a second, more detailed study would be conducted to choose a precise location for the road. Right now, it could be built anywhere within a 10-mile-wide path.
The paperwork process could last until 2011, then construction would take several more years, officials said.
More than 50 public hearings will be held in cities along I-35 beginning in June, including at least five in and around Tarrant County, officials said.
The study didn't address a proposed rail line around southwest Fort Worth, which Cintra Zachry announced last month that it wanted to add to the project. That rail line would relieve freight-train gridlock in Tarrant County, especially at Tower 55 near downtown Fort Worth, and could eventually be accompanied by a toll road looping around the southwestern edge of Fort Worth, said Texas Transportation Commission Chairman Ric Williamson, of Weatherford.
State officials will seriously consider changing the Trans-Texas route to reflect the Metroplex's wishes after hearing testimony from Texans this summer, Williamson said.
"It's never been our intention to divide the state into factions," Williamson said.
However, in making decisions about the location of the toll road, the goal will be to improve mobility statewide, he said.
"We are stewards of the entire transportation system," Williamson said. "The best interests of the state will always trump what's in the best interests of a community along the way."
It's not practical to continue expanding I-35, agency director Michael Behrens said.
"Due to economic development along the interstate, space for expansion is limited," he said.
After Tuesday's announcement, opponents held their own news conference in an adjacent hotel conference room. Many are members of the Dallas NAFTA Trade Corridor Coalition, which prefers to keep truck traffic on Metroplex highways.
Bill Blaydes, a Dallas City Council member, described the Trans-Texas Corridor as a "transfer of wealth" from the Metroplex to rural areas.
Dallas County Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield said he was surprised Cintra Zachry didn't embrace North Texas' regional plan.
"We are sorely disappointed," he said. "We gave our input. It was apparently ignored."
Other facts in the study:
The toll road would be 521 miles long. Most of it would be new road, but the project would incorporate an existing portion of I-35 from San Antonio to Laredo.
Of the 980,667 people who live in the path, 48 percent are minorities and 24 percent are below the poverty level.
The route includes five federally recognized historic sites of 23 acres or greater.
The route would traverse three major and six minor aquifers.
Texans who want to read the environmental study can access it online at www.dot.state.tx.us -- but be warned, including appendices, it's about 4,000 pages long.
Residents can click on maps and see how close their property is to the route, which has now been narrowed to about 10 miles.
Paper copies of the study will be available at area libraries within days, state officials say.
Source: Texas Dept. of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration
Gordon Dickson, (817) 685-3816 gdickson@star-telegram.com
© 2006 Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Wednesday, April 05, 2006
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