Private developers sought for the second Trans-Texas Corridor
TxDOT seeks proposals on making I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor Monday
April 09, 2006
By HINA ALAM
The Lufkin Daily News
Copyright 2006
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and local officials on Monday are planning to take the second step on the long road to construction of Interstate 69: officially request proposals from the private sector to develop the I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor.
Earlier this year, to accelerate the development of I-69/TTC, the Texas Transportation Commission authorized staff to initiate a competitive, two-step selection process for a private sector partner that may finance, design, construct, operate and maintain the project, a TxDOT press release said.
Lufkin Mayor Louis Bronaugh said though TxDOT has asked for local contractors to form a partnership, "I don't know when the project will start. It can't start until funds are available."
He said the process to starting the project begins with asking for a partnership with private contractors. "This process is starting Monday. And then we sit back and watch it unfold."
Bronaugh said he is known as the grandfather of I-69 among TxDOT officials because he has been pushing for this project since 1991.
"But it cannot start until we have crossed the 't's and dotted the 'i's ... plans are laid out, drawn out. It could be 20 or 25 years until it actually begins."
I-69 is being developed under the Trans-Texas Corridor master plan, the release said. The proposed project is approximately 600 miles long and extends from Northeast Texas to Mexico, it said.
However, at this point in time, the plans have not been laid out, the route has not been determined and the cost has not been estimated.
Bronaugh said TxDOT officials are requesting requesting proposals from the private sector before a cost or route is estimated or drawn because "the contractors will design and pinpoint the route. They will select the most economic route. We don't want to relocate schools and cemeteries and elevate areas."
I-69 would eventually include separate lanes for cars and trucks, several rail lines and a utility corridor, the release said.
Currently, the initial environmental process for I-69/TTC is underway with the goal of narrowing the study area to approximately four miles wide, it said. Additional studies will be needed to identify a final route for the project, it said.
"The process is so slow and so frustrating," Bronaugh said.
Hina Alam's e-mail address is halam@coxnews.com.
© 2006 The Lufkin Daily News: ww.lufkindailynews.com
April 09, 2006
By HINA ALAM
The Lufkin Daily News
Copyright 2006
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and local officials on Monday are planning to take the second step on the long road to construction of Interstate 69: officially request proposals from the private sector to develop the I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor.
Earlier this year, to accelerate the development of I-69/TTC, the Texas Transportation Commission authorized staff to initiate a competitive, two-step selection process for a private sector partner that may finance, design, construct, operate and maintain the project, a TxDOT press release said.
Lufkin Mayor Louis Bronaugh said though TxDOT has asked for local contractors to form a partnership, "I don't know when the project will start. It can't start until funds are available."
He said the process to starting the project begins with asking for a partnership with private contractors. "This process is starting Monday. And then we sit back and watch it unfold."
Bronaugh said he is known as the grandfather of I-69 among TxDOT officials because he has been pushing for this project since 1991.
"But it cannot start until we have crossed the 't's and dotted the 'i's ... plans are laid out, drawn out. It could be 20 or 25 years until it actually begins."
I-69 is being developed under the Trans-Texas Corridor master plan, the release said. The proposed project is approximately 600 miles long and extends from Northeast Texas to Mexico, it said.
However, at this point in time, the plans have not been laid out, the route has not been determined and the cost has not been estimated.
Bronaugh said TxDOT officials are requesting requesting proposals from the private sector before a cost or route is estimated or drawn because "the contractors will design and pinpoint the route. They will select the most economic route. We don't want to relocate schools and cemeteries and elevate areas."
I-69 would eventually include separate lanes for cars and trucks, several rail lines and a utility corridor, the release said.
Currently, the initial environmental process for I-69/TTC is underway with the goal of narrowing the study area to approximately four miles wide, it said. Additional studies will be needed to identify a final route for the project, it said.
"The process is so slow and so frustrating," Bronaugh said.
Hina Alam's e-mail address is halam@coxnews.com.
© 2006 The Lufkin Daily News:
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Sunday, April 09, 2006
<< Home