July 15, 2006

by Clay Coppedge, Temple Daily Telegram

Though the Texas Department of Transportation is beginning a series of public hearings in Central Texas on the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor, the state’s transportation director said Friday that neighboring states, especially Oklahoma, need to be prepared for the impact the corridor might have on them.

Michael Behrens, executive director of TxDOT, said his department has had discussions with neighboring states. He singled out Oklahoma, which he said is interested in the corridor concept.

“We’re looking at some of their facilities in Oklahoma, like I-35 and U.S. 69,” Behrens said. “We haven’t talked beyond Oklahoma.”

Behrens made his comments during a teleconference arranged by TxDOT as a briefing and interview session before a round of public hearings begin in Central Texas on Monday.

Hearings, all of which start at 5 p.m. with an open house and oral comments beginning at 6:30 p.m., are scheduled in the McGregor High School Auditorium, 903 Bluebonnet Parkway, on Monday, July 17, and at the Cameron Performing Arts Center at 303 E. 12th St. on Tuesday, July 18. Hearings are scheduled the following week in Georgetown’s Klett Center for the Performing Arts, 2211 N. Austin Ave., on Monday, July 24; at the Taylor High School Auditorium, 3101 N. Main St. in Taylor, Tuesday, July 25; in Temple at the Frank W. Mayborn Civic & Convention Center Main Hall, 3303 N. 3rd St., on Wednesday, July 26; and Thursday, July 27, Knights of Columbus Hall, 655 US E. Highway 79 in Rockdale.

The first segment of the Trans-Texas Corridor, usually referred to as TTC-35, would run north-south several miles east of Interstate 35, from Laredo to the Oklahoma border.

The plan calls for a six-lane highway with room in a 1,200-foot wide area for freight and passenger rails, two high-speed rail lines, a natural gas pipeline and a fiber optic and water utilities zone.

“Eighty percent of the trade from Mexico comes through Texas,” TxDOT public information officer Randall Dillard said. “The problem is that it’s being forced onto an overloaded and congested highway. One of the main purposes of the Trans-Texas Corridor is to relieve congestion on I-35.”

Among other concerns, opponents say that rural landowners will have their property split by the corridor and access to their property will be limited.