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State hears corridor opposition; TxDot officials field a tough crowd
Over 650 citizens from Colorado and Fayette counties crowded into the Knights of Columbus Hall in La Grange to voice opposition to the Trans Texas Corridor, Tuesday, March 23.
The evening crowd was told by Texas Department of Transportation Executive Director Michael Behrens and Texas Transportation Commission Director John W. Johnson that the planned 4,000 mile highway project is just a conception at this point. The plan, already approved by the commission, would create a network of public highways, toll roads, high-speed rail, cargo rail and utility zones along or parallel to existing state highways and intestates across Texas.
The corridor, on the conception map presented by TxDOT in public hearings last month, would connect San Antonio and Houston with a route roughly paralleling Interstate 10.
Although location of the parallel corridor is not confirmed by TxDOT, at last week's meeting Behrens confirmed that it could be 8-9 miles north of Interstate 10.
"Again, this is only a conception. We cannot say exactly where it will go. These red lines on the map are just a conception. Nothing is etched in stone," Behrens said.
Johnson said there are only two areas where TxDOT is actively working at this time: east of Austin, parallel to Interstate 35 and along the coast, from the Rio Grande area to Houston.
The lack of concrete answers irritated the standing room only crowd more than once and tempers flared.
"Would you just answer a simple yes or no, please," one man said.
Later, when asked if the corridor could be stopped with a citizens' vote, Johnson said, no.
"We do not take a vote on highway projects," he said.
Rep. Robby Cook also attended the meeting and said he voted for the legislature that allowed TxDOT to secure private bonds to fund highway projects. However, he said the Legislature was not aware of the corridor project at that time. Gov. Rick Perry has promoted the project and presented to the state transportation commission, a board of five governor appointed directors, last year.
The corridor is intended to relieve congestion in major metropolitan areas by creating a fast-moving highway/rail system across the state to connect "hubs" outside Texas' cities.
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