This is the official Texas Department of Transportation Trans-Texas Corridor Plan, adopted June 2002

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Crossroads of the Americas:
Trans Texas Corridor Plan                     
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Looking Down the Road - Executive Summary - Action Plan - Planning - Design - Environmental - Right of Way > Toll - Rail - Dedicated Utility Zone - Finance
 

Right of Ways

Overview

To preserve the corridor for future generations, acquiring property for all components must begin as soon as possible. Property rights are important to TxDOT and will receive high priority in this process. Through good-faith negotiation, TxDOT will acquire necessary right of way in a single transaction with each owner.

Right of way acquisition will be characterized by public-private investment to include financial participation by utility companies, railroad companies, developers and landowners.

Benchmarks

• The Texas Transportation Commission has statutory authority to develop and implement a statewide transportation plan incorporating various modes and funding sources.

• The commission has authority to undertake land condemnation, though lawsuits stemming from this process must be filed and prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.

• A county or city also has authority within its jurisdiction to proceed with right of way condemnation on behalf of the state.

• With the attorney general’s consent, the state may enter into a local cooperation agreement to have a county or city attorney act on its behalf.

Challenges

• TxDOT lacks specific statutory authority to deal directly with private investors and developers for all types of projects. Currently, exclusive development agreements can only be used for toll highways.

• TxDOT does not have authority to acquire right of way for railroad or utility purposes. The agency also lacks statutory authority to acquire right of way for "all modes of transportation." The Texas Transportation Code also limits acquisition to right of way that is deemed "necessary or convenient" to toll highways.

• TxDOT has limited ability to expedite the acquisition process. Constitutional protections, supplemented by federal law, ensure due process and adequate compensation for private property rights. Appraisals, offer letters, and court hearings or trials are part of the required process. These cannot be eliminated, nor can the time frame imposed by those requirements be materially reduced.

• TxDOT has limited authority to acquire property for future needs, including environmental mitigation.

• Utilities currently have statutory authority to place their facilities within the right of way of state highways without charge. To create revenue for the corridor and more incentive for utilities to participate in development, legislation would be required to authorize TxDOT to charge utilities for use of the corridor. In exchange for financial participation, utilities would have access to the protected infrastructure of the corridor.

[ Editor's Note: Most, if not all, of these 'challenges' have been overcome by recent changes of law, like HB3588 ]

Actions

• New legislation is needed to expand TxDOT’s authority to enter into contracts with private entities for development of all types of transportation projects.

• For railroad and utility purposes, new legislation is needed to grant the Texas Transportation Commission expanded authority for right of way acquisition. Such legislation would need to either specifically add railroad and utility purposes or more broadly authorize acquisition for "all modes of transportation."

• Amend the Texas Government Code to allow local, state and federal government to donate real property to TxDOT for right of way use without requiring compliance with the existing donation statute.

• New legislation is needed to permit environmental expenditures (land banking) to serve a future need. Such legislation also would benefit immediate needs caused by a particular condemnation or improvement.

• To preserve long stretches of the Trans Texas Corridor for future use, while reducing immediate funding demands, TxDOT would use less traditional methods of acquiring property:

• An option to purchase would reserve land for use by TxDOT while leaving the property in private ownership until needed. The option-to-purchase method of acquisition is permissible under the Texas Transportation Code. New legislation would grant property-tax reductions and other benefits during the option period.

• To create more revenue potential in the Trans Texas Corridor and more incentive for utilities to participate in development, new legislation would authorize TxDOT to charge utilities for use of the corridor. In exchange for financial participation, utilities would have access to the protected infrastructure of the corridor.

• A purchase and lease-back agreement would maintain private use of the property while generating revenue until the property is needed for development. New legislation would broaden the lease-back provision in the Texas Transportation Code beyond use only for agriculture and ranching. Such legislation would permit additional purposes, and eliminate the surplus requirement for leasing.

• New legislation will need to clarify that the corridor can be used for generating revenue without meeting the traditional surplus requirements for sale and/or lease of highway assets. As opposed to public bids, this legislation would include new and broader standards for negotiating leases, utility easements, agreements for signage and other property interests and licenses within the right of way.

• New legislation would require that local governments pay for any increased costs for acquisition of real property, especially if the costs result from local ordinances, rules and orders that are more restrictive than state or federal regulations. This would include platting, storm-water drainage facilities and requirements regarding outdoor advertising.

• Within the current framework of the Constitution and federal law, some measures need to be adopted to make acquisition of needed right of way more efficient. Some of these include:

• Enabling TxDOT to go on private property for surveying and environmental investigation. This is similar to the existing authority TxDOT has for toll projects.

• Granting broader authority to purchase severed property (uneconomic remainders). This also is similar to the toll project authority given to TxDOT.

• Granting authority for early possession of an owner’s property pending litigation, a type of "quick take" similar to existing TxDOT authority in toll projects.

• Granting authority to move and replace a local road severed or otherwise damaged by a segment of the corridor. Again, this is similar to the authority given to TxDOT.

• Create a new chapter in the Texas Transportation Code specifically dealing with issues related to the Trans Texas Corridor. This chapter would incorporate existing acquisition and funding authority granted to TxDOT and grant additional powers as described above to both expedite the process and provide flexibility in dealing with utilities, railroads and private landowners.

Looking Down the Road - Executive Summary - Action Plan
Planning - Design - Environmental - Right of Way > Toll - Rail - Dedicated Utility Zone - Finance