Trans-Texas Corridor

Last updated

The Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) was a proposal for a transportation network in the U.S. State of Texas that was conceived to be composed of a new kind of transportation modality known as supercorridors. The TTC was initially proposed in 2001 and after considerable controversy was discontinued by 2010 in the planning and early construction stages.

Contents

The network, as originally envisioned, would have been composed of a 4,000-mile (6,400 km) network of supercorridors up to 1,200 feet (370 m) wide to carry parallel links of tollways, rails, and utility lines. [1] It was intended to route long-distance traffic around population centers, and to provide stable corridors for future infrastructure improvements–such as new power lines from wind farms in West Texas to the cities in the east–without the otherwise often lengthy administrative and legal procedures required to build on privately owned land. The tollway portion would have been divided into two separate elements: truck lanes and lanes for passenger vehicles. Similarly, the rail lines in the corridor would have been divided among freight, commuter, and high-speed rail. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) intended to "charge public and private concerns for utility, commodity or data transmission" within the corridor, [2] in essence making a toll road for services such as water, electricity, natural gas, petroleum, fiber optic lines, and other telecommunications services. The network would have been funded by private investors and built and expanded as demand warrants.

In 2009, TxDOT decided to phase out the all-in-one corridor concept in favor of developing separate rights-of-way for road, rail, and other infrastructure using more traditional corridor widths for those modes. [3] In 2010, official decision of "no action" was issued by the Federal Highway Administration, formally ending the project. The action eliminated the study area and canceled the agreement between TxDOT and ACS-Zachry.

In 2011, the Texas Legislature formally canceled the Trans-Texas Corridor with the passage of HB 1201. [4]

Network

The TTC was hoped to be a multi-use, statewide system that would have included new and existing highways, railways, and utility rights-of-way. According to the Houston Chronicle , on January 6, 2009, "In response to public outcry, the ambitious proposal to create the Trans-Texas Corridor network has been dropped and will be replaced with a plan to carry out road projects at an incremental, modest pace". [5]

The network was proposed to include separate lanes for passenger and truck traffic, freight and high-speed commuter railways, and infrastructure for utilities, including water, oil, and gas pipelines; electricity; along with broadband and other telecommunications services. Although the model corridor design incorporates all of these elements running in parallel within a shared right-of-way, more recent plans suggested that existing rail and road corridors could be used for some components of the TTC. The model corridor design also represented the ultimate build-out of a corridor section, which would not have been realized for decades, if at all, as corridor segments and components were planned to be built based on traffic demand.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) attempted to provide oversight for planning, construction, and maintenance while day-to-day operations would have been performed by private companies. [6] In March 2005, TxDOT and ACS-Zachry signed a comprehensive development agreement which authorized $3.5 million of planning for TTC-35. This agreement did not designate the alignment, authorize construction, set toll rates or who collects them, and did not eliminate competition for future services. [7] There were no contracts awarded to develop or finance any other corridor. [8]

Corridors

This map of the United States shows the volume of freight shipped through Texas, a major trade gateway from Mexico, as red lines branching out from the heart of the state. Only freight passing through Texas is included. Texas freight traffic.gif
This map of the United States shows the volume of freight shipped through Texas, a major trade gateway from Mexico, as red lines branching out from the heart of the state. Only freight passing through Texas is included.

There were two initial trans-Texas corridors under consideration: One would have paralleled Interstate 35 (I-35), from Gainesville to Laredo and passing the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Austin and San Antonio. The other would have been an extension of the proposed I-69 corridor, generally following US 59, from Texarkana past Houston to either Laredo or the Rio Grande Valley. Both of these corridors have seen large increases in freight traffic demand over the past two decades due to increased trade with Mexico.

Two additional high priority potential corridors would have paralleled Interstate 45 from Dallas to Houston and Interstate 10 from El Paso to Orange. [9]

TTC-35

ACS-Zachry, a partnership between Spanish-based toll-road developer/operator ACS and Texas-based Zachry Construction, was awarded a $3.5 million contract to help plan the entire TTC-35 route in March 2005. [10] The study area for Trans-Texas Corridor-35 (TTC-35) generally followed Interstate 35 from Laredo to the Oklahoma border. The environmental study for the project proceeded in two tiers: a first tier that refined the study area to a 10-mile (16 km) wide study corridor and a second tier that selected particular alignments for the various corridor components; where all corridor components (rail, highway, and utilities) were planned to be built adjacent to one another, this corridor would have been approximately 1,200 feet (370 m) wide.

The TTC-35 Tier 1 draft environmental impact statement (EIS) was published in April 2006. [11] The final EIS was expected originally to be submitted to the Federal Highway Administration in 2007; as of April 2008, preparation of the final EIS was listed as "ongoing." [12]

The draft EIS included 12 different study corridor alternatives by choosing among four variations along the route. The first variation, from Laredo to southeast of San Antonio, would have included either the current I-35 alignment until curving off to the east at a point south of San Antonio or would have followed a more direct route to the east. The study area for all alternatives continued northeast, paralleling I-35. The second variation would have either passed just to the east of the municipal boundaries along I-35 from Austin to Temple or further east. The third variation would have passed either to the west of Fort Worth or east of Dallas. The fourth variation was dependent on the eastern third variation and would have either rejoined the western third variation near the Oklahoma border or would have ended at the Oklahoma border near U.S. Route 75. The draft EIS designated a recommended preferred alternative corridor running to the east of I-35 and I-35E from near Gainesville to south of San Antonio, where the corridor would join I-35 to run south to Laredo.

On October 7, 2009, TxDOT officials announced that the department would recommend the "No Action Alternative", which effectively ended the efforts to develop the Interstate 35 corridor through the TTC concept. [13]

SH 130

State Highway 130 is a component of the Central Texas Turnpike System, much of which was thought likely to be incorporated into TTC-35. Segments 1-4 of SH 130 were built by Lone Star Infrastructure in the Austin metropolitan area as an eastern relief route for Interstate 35.

On June 28, 2006, ACS-Zachry reached a $1.3 billion agreement with the state to build segments 5 and 6 of SH 130, [14] which could have represented the alignment of TTC-35's highway component between Interstate 10 at Seguin east of San Antonio and U.S. Route 79 near Taylor, Texas. [15] According to the "Facility Plan of Finance," $412 million of financing for the project would be a federally-guaranteed loan under the Transportation Infrastructure Financing and Innovation Act, while the remaining financing would be from equity put forward by ACS-Zachry and bank loans from private lenders. [16] Per the agreement, TxDOT would receive between 4.65% and 50% of toll revenues depending on the performance of the facility, with a smaller share due to TxDOT if TxDOT does not authorize posting of daytime speed limits of 80 mph (130 km/h) or higher along the route. [17]

The ACS-Zachry Preliminary Financial Plan showed the expected toll revenue to be collected for Segment 5 and 6 at $14.9 billion over 50 years. The Preliminary Financial Plan for Segment 5 and 6 also showed $12.4 billion in earnings before taxes for the developer.[ citation needed ]

I-69/TTC

The second priority corridor for development was the Interstate 69 extension through Texas, which would have roughly followed the route of US 59 from Laredo via Houston to Carthage; there, the national I-69 corridor would have continued northeast into Louisiana and a spur route north to Texarkana would have continued along US 59 to Interstate 30. The original national plan for I-69 also included two spur routes to the Rio Grande Valley following US 281 and US 77; Texas was also studying a connection between the I-69 corridor near Laredo and Corpus Christi known as the "Port to Port Corridor".

Texas' portion of I-69 was originally planned to be developed as a traditional Interstate highway (with a mixed-use freeway component only), as it is being developed in other states, but was rolled into the Trans Texas Corridor concept soon after the latter's announcement due to their substantial overlap in purpose and scope. However, on June 11, 2008, TxDOT announced they planned to limit further study of I-69 to existing highway corridors–U.S. 59, U.S. 77, U.S. 281, U.S. 84, and SH 44–outside transition zones in the lower Rio Grande Valley, Laredo, Houston, and Texarkana. [18] TxDOT also announced it was reverting to building I-69 as a standard 4-lane freeway instead of a multi-modal corridor as previously envisioned under the Trans-Texas Corridor concept. The latest plan called for adding a second carriageway and eliminating at-grade intersections along US-59 and US-77 in rural areas, with tolled bypasses around major cities and towns along the I-69 route.

According to the Deep East Texas Council of Governments, I-69 is a "future NAFTA Superhighway". [19] It will enter the U.S. from the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. [20]

Other potential corridors

Texas officials identified several other possible TTC corridors in the long-range plan. Interstate 10 through the southern part of the state, Interstate 20 from east of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to I-10 near Midland, along an extended Interstate 27 through western Texas, and a new terrain corridor along the northern Texas border paralleling sections of Interstate 30 from the Arkansas line at Texarkana to Fort Worth, US-287 from Fort Worth to Amarillo, and Interstate 40 from Amarillo to New Mexico.

As alternatives to California seaports

One component of TTC-69 could have been part of a freight corridor that stretched from ports on the Pacific coast of Mexico to the Great Lakes. [21] Depending on the level of traffic on that route, opponents argued that it would draw shipping traffic away from U.S. ports in California (San Diego, Long Beach and Los Angeles) in favor of Mexican seaports.

Criticism

A citizens uprising was started in 2003 by Linda and David Stall of Fayette County, after reading a small notice in a trade paper about a hearing to be held by TxDOT in their rural town of Fayetteville, Texas. The Stalls notified their friends and neighbors. Eight hundred people showed up to a town hall with a seating capacity of 100. David Stall, a city manager, and Linda Stall, an escrow officer of a Texas title company, founded CorridorWatch.org to lead the building of a network of people who worked together to defeat the construction project. The Motorcycle Riders Caucus, active within both the Democratic and Republican parties, was categorically opposed to toll roads, and they were the most powerful caucus in Texas. Its chair Sputnik helped to develop Stall's network into an immense, diverse coalition of voters opposed to the corridor. As lobbyist for the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association, Sputnik convinced many state legislators to vote against it.

American author and conservative activist Jerome Corsi vehemently opposed the corridor and wrote a book titled The Late Great USA: NAFTA, the North American Union, and the Threat of a Coming Merger with Mexico and Canada. [22] [23] In 2002, the TTC was estimated to cost between US$145.2 billion to $183.5 billion to complete the entire 4,000-mile (6,400 km) network. [9] Some criticisms have focused on the enormous width of the corridors. [ citation needed ] The planned system, if built out to its fullest extent, could have required about 584,000 acres (2,360 km2) of land to be purchased or acquired through the state's assertion of eminent domain.[ citation needed ] Environmentalists were concerned about the effects of such wide corridors and private land owners have expressed concerns about property rights. [24] Opponents also alleged that noise from the TTC would be of such a high volume that it would render the area within one mile (1.6 km) of the corridor uninhabitable by humans, at least during periods of peak traffic on all components of the corridor (freight and passenger rail, truck lanes, and passenger lanes) if they are colocated and built to full capacity. [25]

According to TxDOT documents released in June 2002, "Governor Rick Perry wrote Transportation Commission Chairman John W. Johnson on January 30, 2002 to outline his vision for the Trans Texas Corridor. The governor asked the three-member commission to assemble the Texas Department of Transportation’s top talent to create and deliver a Trans Texas Corridor implementation plan in 90 days." [2]

In spite of public complaints–and both the 2006 platforms of the Texas Republican [26] and Democratic [27] parties opposing the plan–Governor Rick Perry continued to support the TTC. [28]

Among the opponents to the corridor was the Republican State Representative Lois Kolkhorst of Washington County, who opposed on the basis that the project would undermine private property rights. [29]

In the 2010 gubernatorial elections, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison ran several attack advertisements regarding the TTC as Perry's attempts to expand government and take land from the average Texan. Ultimately, the advertisements did not have a great effect as Hutchison bowed out following her loss in the Republican primary.[ citation needed ]

Financing

To help pay for building the roads and rails, the highways would have been partially financed through private investment.[ citation needed ] The investors would have then operated the highways as toll roads. [30]

Based on The ACS-Zachry Preliminary Financial Plan (TTC-35 Development Agreement, Exhibit C) funding the TTC-35 Corridor awarded to ACS-Zachry showed that 22%(1) of the initial infrastructure costs were shown to be funded with equity provided by ACS-Zachry. The other 78% was to be provided by bank loans or bonds arranged by ACS-Zachry. Based on then-current federal regulations these bonds could have been tax-exempt. It was also noted in the financial plan that ACS-Zachry expected to have 12% return on investment for their equity partners. The 12% return was after taxes, which would have been approximately equivalent to 16% before taxes. The plan called for paying off the bank loans and the bonds prior to retiring the equity as shown in cash flow diagrams of the Preliminary Financial Plan (TTC-35 Development Agreement, Exhibit C). With usual bond financing there is a 3:1 ratio between total fees collected and value of capital infrastructure built. With TTC-35 the ratio was in the order of magnitude of 13:1. So while TTC-35 committed to construct $8 billion in infrastructure ACS-Zachry expected to collect $114 billion in toll revenues as shown in the preliminary plan. A report by the Texas State Auditor estimated the toll to be collected for TTC-35 to be $104 billion or more, confirming the order of magnitude of tolls collected. [31]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 27</span> Interstate in the Texas Panhandle

Interstate 27 (I-27) is an Interstate Highway, entirely in the US state of Texas, running north from Lubbock to I-40 in Amarillo. These two cities are the only control cities on I-27; other cities and towns served by I-27 include New Deal, Abernathy, Hale Center, Plainview, Kress, Tulia, Happy, and Canyon. In Amarillo, I-27 is commonly known as the Canyon Expressway, although it is also called Canyon Drive on its access roads. I-27 was officially designated the Marshall Formby Memorial Highway after former attorney and State Senator Marshall Formby in 2005. The entire length of I-27 replaced US Highway 87 (US 87) for through traffic. An extension of I-27 north to Raton, New Mexico, and south to Laredo, Texas, was approved in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 35</span> Interstate Highway from Texas to Minnesota

Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border to Duluth, Minnesota, at Minnesota State Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East. The highway splits into I-35E and I-35W in two separate places, the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in Texas and at the Minnesota twin cities of Minneapolis–Saint Paul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 69</span> Interstate Highway from Texas to Michigan

Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of 10 unconnected segments with an original continuous segment from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, at 355.8 miles (572.6 km). The remaining separated segments are variously completed and posted or not posted sections of an extension southwest to the Mexican border in Texas. Of this extension—nicknamed the NAFTA Superhighway because it would help trade with Canada and Mexico spurred by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)—seven pieces in Laredo, Texas; Pharr, Texas; Brownsville, Texas; Corpus Christi, Texas; Houston, Texas; northwestern Mississippi; and Memphis, Tennessee, have been built or upgraded and signposted as I-69. Indiana is currently working on a fifth segment that will extend I-69 through the entire state while a sixth segment of I-69 through Kentucky utilizing that state's existing parkway system and a section of I-24 was established by federal legislation in 2008 with several more parkway segments being upgraded since then. This brings the total length to approximately 880 miles (1,420 km).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 14</span> Interstate Highway in Texas

Interstate 14 (I-14), also known as the 14th Amendment Highway, the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway, and the Central Texas Corridor, is an Interstate Highway that is currently located entirely in Central Texas, following US Highway 190 (US 190). The portion of the route that has been constructed and signed to date, the Central Texas Corridor along US 190 west of I-35 was officially designated as I-14 by the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, signed by President Barack Obama on December 14, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas state highway system</span> Highway system of Texas in the United States

Texas state highways are a network of highways owned and maintained by the U.S. state of Texas. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is the state agency responsible for the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the system. Texas has the largest state highway system, followed closely by North Carolina's state highway system. In addition to the nationally numbered Interstate Highways and U.S. Highways, the highway system consists of a main network of state highways, loops, spurs, and beltways that provide local access to the other highways. The system also includes a large network of farm to market roads that connect rural areas of the state with urban areas and the rest of the state highway system. The state also owns and maintains some park and recreational roads located near and within state and national parks, as well as recreational areas. All state highways, regardless of classification, are paved roads. The Old San Antonio Road, also known as the El Camino Real, is the oldest highway in the United States, first being blazed in 1691. The length of the highways varies from US 83's 893.4 miles (1,437.8 km) inside the state borders to Spur 200 at just 0.05 miles long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas State Highway 130</span> Pickle Parkway, highway in Texas

State Highway 130 (SH 130), also known as the Pickle Parkway, is a freeway and toll road in the U.S. state of Texas. It runs parallel to Interstate 35 (I-35) in San Antonio along I-410 and I-10 to east of Seguin, then north as a toll road from there to I-35 north of Georgetown. SH 130 runs in a 91-mile (146 km) corridor east and south of Austin. The route parallels I-35 and is intended to relieve the Interstate's traffic volume through the San Antonio–Austin corridor by serving as an alternate route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas State Highway 255</span> State highway in Texas

State Highway 255 (SH 255) is state highway in the U.S. state of Texas that allows international traffic to bypass Laredo. Located in Webb County, the highway provides a connection between the Laredo–Colombia Solidarity International Bridge to Interstate 35 (I-35). The route opened in 2000 as the Camino Colombia Toll Road, and was one of the few operating toll roads in the United States to have gone through the legal process of foreclosure. The toll designation was removed from the route in 2017.

The World Trade International Bridge is one of four international bridges located in the cities of Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, that connect the United States and Mexico over the Rio Grande. It is owned and operated by City of Laredo and the Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes. It is also known as Laredo International Bridge 4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas State Highway Loop 20</span> State highway loop around Laredo, Texas, United States

Loop 20, also known as the Bob Bullock Loop and Cuatro Vientos Road, is a highway loop that runs to the north and east of the city of Laredo, Texas. Loop 20 extends from the World Trade International Bridge at its northern point to Mangana-Hein Road at its southern point. The current route varies in construction from a 2-lane road to a freeway with frontage roads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 83 in Texas</span> Highway in Texas

U.S. Highway 83 (US 83), dedicated as the Texas Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway, is a U.S. Highway in the U.S. state of Texas that begins at US 77 in Brownsville and follows the Rio Grande to Laredo, then heads north through Abilene to the Oklahoma state line north of Perryton, the seat of Ochiltree County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 35 in Texas</span> Section of Interstate Highway in Texas, United States

Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major north–south Interstate Highway that runs from Laredo, Texas near the Mexican border to Duluth, Minnesota. In Texas, the highway begins in Laredo and runs north to the Red River north of Gainesville, where it crosses into Oklahoma. Along its route, it passes through the cities of San Antonio, Austin, and Waco before splitting into two branch routes just north of Hillsboro: I-35E heads northeast through Dallas, while I-35W turns northwest to run through Fort Worth. The two branches rejoin in Denton to again form I-35, which continues to the Oklahoma state line. The exit numbers for I-35E maintain the sequence of exit numbers from the southern segment of I-35, and the northern segment of I-35 follows on from the sequence of exit numbers from I-35E. I-35W maintains its own sequence of exit numbers.

The Ports to Plains Corridor, also known as National Highway System High Priority Corridor 38, is a highway corridor between the United States Mexico border at Laredo, Texas and Denver, Colorado. It is the southern third of the Ports-to-Plains Alliance. The reason for proposed improvements to this corridor is to expedite the transportation of goods and services from Mexico in the United States and vice versa. The proposed improvements gained momentum with the signing of the FY22 Omnibus Appropriations bill, which designated a section of the highway part of the interstate system. The Ports-To-Plains Corridor starts in South Texas and traverses through Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and ends in Denver, Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 69 in Texas</span> Interstate Highway in Texas

Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway that is in the process of being built in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of a longer I-69 extension known as the NAFTA superhighway, that, when completed, will connect Canada to Mexico. In Texas, it will connect Tenaha and the Louisiana segment of the route through the eastern part of the state and along the Texas Gulf Coast to Victoria, where it will split into three branches: I-69E to Brownsville, I-69C to Pharr, and I-69W to Laredo. The first segment of I-69 in Texas was opened in 2011 near Corpus Christi. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) approved an additional 58 miles (93 km) of U.S. Highway 77 (US 77) from Brownsville to the Willacy–Kenedy county line for designation as I-69, which was to be signed as I-69E upon concurrence from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). FHWA approval for this segment was announced on May 29, 2013. By March 2015, a 74.9-mile (120.5 km) section of US 59 had been completed and designated as I-69 through Greater Houston. As of 2024, short segments near the southern terminuses of the three branch routes have also all been completed. These branches are planned to be connected to the rest of Interstate 69.

There are approximately 25 current toll roads in the state of Texas. Toll roads are more common in Texas than in many other U.S. states, since the relatively low revenues from the state's gasoline tax limits highway planners' means to fund the construction and operation of highways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas State Highway Loop 353</span> State highway in Texas

Loop 353 is a 7.875-mile-long (12.674 km) loop route in the U.S. state of Texas that follows a former route of U.S. Highway 81 (US 81) in San Antonio. Loop 353 follows New Laredo Highway from Interstate 35 (I-35) on the southwest side of San Antonio towards the northeast and follows Nogalitos Street before ending at another point on I-35 just southwest of Downtown San Antonio. The road is still a major arterial for the city, providing access to Kelly USA.

The NAFTA superhighway is a term sometimes used informally to refer to certain existing and proposed highways intended to link Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Although the term has not been used publicly by governments in an official policy context, there are some dissident beliefs about this appellation that are associated with nationalist conspiracy theories regarding alleged secret plans to undermine U.S. sovereignty. Development of these routes is supported by the North American SuperCorridor Coalition as part of a NASCO Corridor. These include Interstate 35 from Laredo, Texas to the Canadian border that downgrades to a non-freeway route ending at Thunder Bay, Ontario, and Interstate 29, a spur that also downgrades to a regular highway at the border and continues to Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The North Tarrant Express (NTE) project is a total highway reconstruction of the Interstate 820 (I-820) and State Highway 121/State Highway 183 corridor between I-35W and Industrial Boulevard in Northeast Tarrant County, Texas. The NTE and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) anticipate the new highway system will relieve traffic congestion, improve safety on its roadways and have integrated plans for the anticipated traffic growth in one of the country’s fastest developing regions. When the improvements are completed, the $2.5 billion North Tarrant Express will have upgraded main highway lanes, continuous frontage roads, and 13.3 miles (21.4 km) of newly added tolled managed lanes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 69E</span> Interstate Highway in Texas, United States

Interstate 69E (I-69E) is a north–south Interstate Highway running through South Texas. Once complete, the freeway will begin in Brownsville and head northward before terminating near Victoria as both I-69W and I-69E merge into I-69 toward Houston. For its entire length, I-69E runs concurrently with U.S. Highway 77 (US 77). The route currently exists in two segments: a 56.894-mile (91.562 km) segment from its southern terminus in Brownsville to the Willacy–Kenedy county line and a shorter 7.672-mile (12.347 km) segment south of Corpus Christi. The route has one auxiliary Interstate route, I-169 in Brownsville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 2</span> Interstate Highway in South Texas

Interstate 2 (I-2) is a partially completed Interstate Highway running through the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. It begins at the intersection of US Highway 83 (US 83) and Business US 83 in Peñitas and heads eastward before terminating at I-69E/US 77/US 83 in Harlingen. A westward extension around La Joya has been completed, and is designated as I-2 East. For almost its entire length, I-2 runs concurrently with US 83. I-2 also parallels Mexican Federal Highway 2 (Fed. 2), another major east–west route that traces the Mexico–US border along the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. When completed, the western terminus will be the city of Laredo. The route is one of the more recently designated Interstate Highways; it was signed as an Interstate in 2013. Its construction is part of an expansion of the Interstate System into southern Texas that includes the three branches of I-69. It currently intersects I-69E and I-69C and will, when completed to Laredo, terminate I-69W as well. This complex of Interstate Highways does not yet connect to the rest of the system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 69W</span> Interstate Highway in South Texas

Interstate 69W (I-69W) is a relatively short north–south Interstate Highway running through South Texas in the United States. The freeway begins northeast of the middle of World Trade International Bridge in Laredo and ends at I-35. In the future, I-69W will head northeast for 180 miles (290 km) before terminating near Victoria as both I-69E and I-69W merge to form I-69. For its entire length, I-69W runs concurrently with U.S. Highway 59 (US 59).

References

  1. ↑ Crossroads of the Americas: Trans Texas Corridor Plan Report Summary Archived April 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 Crossroads of the Americas: Trans Texas Corridor Plan « TTC 69
  3. ↑ "TxDOT Press Release, "TxDOT Announces Updated Vision for Trans-Texas Corridor." Retrieved March 25, 2009". Archived from the original on February 27, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Texas Legislature Online - 82(R) History for HB 1201".
  5. ↑ By ROSANNA RUIZ, JANET ELLIOTT and R.G. RATCLIFFE Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
  6. ↑ TTC overview Archived August 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ TTC contracts & agreements Archived August 17, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ I-69/TTC contracts & agreements Archived August 22, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  9. 1 2 Crossroads of the Americas: Trans Texas Corridor Plan Report Summary Archived December 27, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ TTC-35 CONTRACTS & AGREEMENTS Archived August 17, 2007, at the Wayback Machine .
  11. ↑ TTC-35 Draft Environmental Impact Statement overview Archived March 1, 2007, at the Wayback Machine .
  12. ↑ TTC-35 Environmental Study Timeline Archived April 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine .
  13. ↑ TxDOT Responds to Citizen Comments on TTC-35 Archived July 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine .
  14. ↑ SH 130 Concession Company, LLC.
  15. ↑ State Highway 130 (Segments 5 and 6) Concession Agreement.
  16. ↑ Exhibit 5, Facility Plan of Finance.
  17. ↑ Exhibit 7, Concession Terms.
  18. ↑ Texas Department of Transportation, "TxDOT Recommends Narrowing Study Area for Texas Portion of I-69," Archived July 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine June 11, 2008.
  19. ↑ Deep East Texas Council of Governments Newsletter May 2000 « TTC 69
  20. ↑ Trans-Texas Corridor: TTC Projects - Draft Environmental Impact Statement Tier One Archived April 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  21. ↑ Testimony of Harris County Judge Robert Eckels before the (Texas State) Senate Committee on Infrastructure Development and Security Archived April 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , May 4, 2004. Retrieved April 12, 2008
  22. ↑ Corsi, Jerome R. (2007). Book: The Late Great USA, The Coming Merger with Mexico and Canada. WND Books. ISBN   978-0979045141.
  23. ↑ "NASCO Alters Super-Corridor Message". Human Events. Archived from the original on July 15, 2009. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  24. ↑ Cathy Booth Thomas (December 6, 2004). The Next Wave in Superhighways, or A Big, Fat Texas Boondoggle? TIME . Accessed December 3, 2004.
  25. ↑ Noise from TTC will render area within 1 mile of corridor uninhabitable. « TTC 69
  26. ↑ 2006 Texas Republican Party Platform Archived December 13, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  27. ↑ 2006 Texas Democratic Party Platform Archived June 5, 2006, at the Library of Congress Web Archives
  28. ↑ Governor Rick Perry Statement of Gov. Rick Perry on Trans Texas Corridor Archived January 1, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  29. ↑ "Lois W. Kolkhorst: Biography" (PDF). Texas Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  30. ↑ "CorridorWatch.org - Challenging the Wisdom of the Trans-Texas Corridor". Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved August 4, 2010. What Is The Trans Texas Corridor?
  31. ↑ The NAFTA Superhighway in The Nation
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.