"Path includes San Marcos' extraterritorial jurisdiction and a large portion of Caldwell County."
Trans Texas Corridor could cut close to home
Apr 05, 2006
By ANITA MILLER
San Marcos Daily Record
Copyright 2006
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) on Tuesday unveiled a narrower area through which the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC) could be built. The possible path includes parts of San Marcos' extraterritorial jurisdiction and a large portion of neighboring Caldwell County.
The “recommended preferred alternative” was released at a Dallas press conference. It laid out a 10-mile swath from Laredo to the Oklahoma border that is at place only a few miles east of IH-35, the highway that the TTC toll road is being planned to reduce congestion on.
The route does not enter Hays County but the western edge of the alternative is somewhere about halfway between Texas Hwy. 21 and FM 142.
TxDOT's announcement came after the completion of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) conducted by the Federal Highway Administration. The DEIS also found that more than 2,400 square miles of prime farm land are included in the proposed route and that the project could displace almost a million residents.
The 4,000 page DEIS also found that about half of those who live within the 10-mile projected path are minorities and almost a quarter of the households are below the poverty line.
According to the Associated Press, the entire 541 miles of the tollway could impact 13 square miles of parkland and the habitat of 46 threatened or endangered plants and animals. The TTC would be built and operated by the Spanish firm Cintra and Zachry Construction Company. TxDOT says it hopes the roadway will be open by 2015. Its proposed total cost is $184 billion, the AP said.
Tuesday's announcement was of completion of the first tier of the route selection process. Dozens of public meetings will be scheduled this summer to gather public input along the proposed route.
The plan for the quarter-mile-wide project, which would include separate lanes for passenger vehicles and large trucks, freight railways, high-speed railways and infrastructure for utilities including water, oil and transmission lines for electricity, broadband and other services.
It has been spearheaded by Gov. Rick Perry. His Democratic challenger Chris Bell, along with Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Kinky Friedman, both of whom hope to make November's ballots as Independents, have opposed it. In a news release just hours after the press conference on Tuesday, Strayhorn's campaign issued a statement calling the proposed route “the beginning of the largest land grab in Texas history” that “runs down the heart of Texas.”
TxDOT says IH-35 will reach capacity by 2025 even after planned improvements are made; and that 45 percent Texas' 21 million residents already live within 50 miles of the north/south interstate.
Strong opposition has come from rural residents and farmers. The organization Corridor Watch was founded a few years back to fight the TTC.
For more information visit txdot.state.tx.us and/or corridorwatch.org
© 2006 San Marcos Daily Record www.sanmarcosrecord.com
Apr 05, 2006
By ANITA MILLER
San Marcos Daily Record
Copyright 2006
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) on Tuesday unveiled a narrower area through which the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC) could be built. The possible path includes parts of San Marcos' extraterritorial jurisdiction and a large portion of neighboring Caldwell County.
The “recommended preferred alternative” was released at a Dallas press conference. It laid out a 10-mile swath from Laredo to the Oklahoma border that is at place only a few miles east of IH-35, the highway that the TTC toll road is being planned to reduce congestion on.
The route does not enter Hays County but the western edge of the alternative is somewhere about halfway between Texas Hwy. 21 and FM 142.
TxDOT's announcement came after the completion of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) conducted by the Federal Highway Administration. The DEIS also found that more than 2,400 square miles of prime farm land are included in the proposed route and that the project could displace almost a million residents.
The 4,000 page DEIS also found that about half of those who live within the 10-mile projected path are minorities and almost a quarter of the households are below the poverty line.
According to the Associated Press, the entire 541 miles of the tollway could impact 13 square miles of parkland and the habitat of 46 threatened or endangered plants and animals. The TTC would be built and operated by the Spanish firm Cintra and Zachry Construction Company. TxDOT says it hopes the roadway will be open by 2015. Its proposed total cost is $184 billion, the AP said.
Tuesday's announcement was of completion of the first tier of the route selection process. Dozens of public meetings will be scheduled this summer to gather public input along the proposed route.
The plan for the quarter-mile-wide project, which would include separate lanes for passenger vehicles and large trucks, freight railways, high-speed railways and infrastructure for utilities including water, oil and transmission lines for electricity, broadband and other services.
It has been spearheaded by Gov. Rick Perry. His Democratic challenger Chris Bell, along with Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Kinky Friedman, both of whom hope to make November's ballots as Independents, have opposed it. In a news release just hours after the press conference on Tuesday, Strayhorn's campaign issued a statement calling the proposed route “the beginning of the largest land grab in Texas history” that “runs down the heart of Texas.”
TxDOT says IH-35 will reach capacity by 2025 even after planned improvements are made; and that 45 percent Texas' 21 million residents already live within 50 miles of the north/south interstate.
Strong opposition has come from rural residents and farmers. The organization Corridor Watch was founded a few years back to fight the TTC.
For more information visit txdot.state.tx.us and/or corridorwatch.org
© 2006 San Marcos Daily Record
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Wednesday, April 05, 2006
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