i-69 TTC Trans Texas Corridor News Blog

i-69 TTC Trans Texas Corridor News Blog ...

> Group plans Saturday rally to oppose TTC ... April 4/08
AUSTIN, TX -- Opponents of the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor plan to stage a big march and rally Saturday, April 5, at the Capitol in Austin. Rally organizer Terri Hall, executive director of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom – or TURF – said if the toll roads are built, truckers will pay a high price. “They’ll be facing 50 cents a mile minimum truck start toll rates... cont...

> TSTC official to serve on I-69 Committee ... April 2/08
MARSHALL, TX -- TSTC-Marshall Public Information Officer Cindy Leleko has been selected to serve on the I-69 Corridor Advisory Committee Board, a spokesperson at the institution confirmed. The selection process was approved by the Texas Transportation Commission, Ms. Leleko said. According to a press release, the I-69 Corridor Advisory Committee will represent a cross-section of community and business leaders, land owners, local transportation experts and "other interested parties."... cont...

> Wharton County residents prepare for anti-TTC march ... March 29/08
EL CAMPO, TX -- Wharton County residents are expected to be among the Texans marching on Austin April 5 to oppose Trans-Texas Corridor plans... cont...

> Mayor named to Trans-Texas Corridor committee ... March 29/08
SAN MARCOS, TX -- At her first meeting as part of a citizen advisory committee on the Trans-Texas Corridor, San Marcos Mayor Susan Narvaiz plans to listen before she speaks. “I want to be better educated about where they are now in terms of the timeline,” said Narvaiz, who was appointed to the board by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) on Thursday. “I want to hear from the people who put this together, what their intent was, why they figured their alignment the way they did.”... cont...

> Locals chosen to Trans-Texas Corridor citizens’ committees ... March 28/08
WACO, TX -- The Texas Transportation Commission today selected members to serve on two citizens’ advisory committees for the Trans-Texas Corridor. Area residents on the I-35 Corridor Advisory Committee include Karen Marstaller of Waco, Don Greene of Lorena and John Erwin of Hillsboro. Each committee will advise the Texas Department of Transportation in the planning of two priority corridors. One committee will focus on Interstate 35 corridor and TTC-35, while the other committee will advise the department on the proposed Interstate 69 corridor and I-69/TTC... cont...

> Austin Anti-Toll Road Rally Notification ... March 27/08
AUSTIN, TX -- Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF) is organizing a march down Congress Avenue and rally on the South Capitol steps Saturday, April 5. Invited speakers include: Congressman Ron Paul (R – TX), Congressman Virgil Goode (R – VA), Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D – OH), and Oklahoma Senator Randy Brogdon (all of whom have introduced and/or passed bills or resolutions to stop funding the Trans Texas Corridor), along with many Texas State Legislators and local leaders who are leading the fight against the TTC and tolls across Texas... cont...

> TxDOT extends comment time for 1-69, corridor ... March 27/08
TEXARKANA, TX -- The Trans-Texas Corridor, known locally as Interstate 69, has caused enough concern to ripple through communities that the Texas Department of Transportation has extended the timeline for collecting public comments. The original deadline was March 19, but the Federal Highway Administration granted a one-month extension... cont...

> Grimes County Get Organized group is recruiting to fight the I-69-TTC ... March 27/08
NAVASOTA, TX -- The Grimes County Get Organized group is in the process of recruiting willing participants who would like to join the organization in fighting the I-69-TTC. The group's mission is to keep landowners and citizens informed of any updates concerning the I-69-TTC, as many residents of Grimes County are reportedly unaware of the proposed corridor. Grimes County Get Organized is currently under the guidance of Coordinator Joyce Floyd, along with Edna Keasling, Reuben Grassl, Mary Lois Boatman, Carrie Jobe, Joan Stutts Escamilla, Leanne Floyd, Marie Kampbell, and Vanessa Burzynski... cont...

> McReynolds to TxDOT: "Drop I-69/TTC absurdity" ... March 26/08
LUFKIN, TX -- State Rep. Jim McReynolds has sent a letter to the Texas Department of Transportation saying he thinks TxDOT should drop the idea of tying the Trans-Texas Corridor in with plans for routing Interstate 69 through East Texas. McReynolds says tremendous negative outcry from his constituents and other East Texas residents has made it clear to him no one wants infrastructure that massive and disruptive to the quality of life to be built, taking big swaths out of the Pineywoods countryside... cont...

> TxDOT extends comments deadline on TTC by 30 days ... March 25/08
NACOGDOCHES, TX -- Following a request from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, The Texas Department of Transportation announced Monday a 30-day extension on the deadline to submit public comments about the controversial Trans Texas Corridor project. Gabriela Garcia, TxDOT's public information officer, said by telephone that the public will have until April 18 to send the state agency comments about the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, the massive document that outlines possible routes for the proposed 10-lane superhighway... cont...

> Group Files Lawsuit Againist State Transportation Planners ... March 20/08
AUSTIN, TX -- Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom, or TURF, will square off against the Texas Department of Transportation in court today. TURF's, Terri Hall, says the state's transportation department will be challenging the court's jurisdiction over the lawsuit to halt the misuse of taxpayer money for advertising tolls and the Trans-Texas Corridor as well as illegal lobbying... cont...

> The NAFTA Superhighway - a link in the chain ... March 18/08
NAFTA -- Without public notice the Bush administration is proceeding with construction of a vast superhighway through the United States from Mexico to Canada. The “highway” is four football fields wide and will have multi-lane roadways, room for a pipeline and a railroad. The main beneficiaries of this project will be the mega-businesses that will move merchandise of all sorts across the continent at lower costs than presently and add to profits at the expense of our private property, security and landscape. Bill Clinton signed the NAFTA agreement later approved by congress in 1994... cont...

> Mexican official says NAFTA includes superhighways ... March 18/08
NAFTA -- While President Bush and other U.S. officials have derided fears of a NAFTA superhighway as merely conspiracy theory, a Mexican transportation expert contends the trade agreement includes plans for a network of international ship, rail and truck connections to deliver consumer goods from China and the Far East to Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. "Transportation linking the United States, Mexico and Canada is key to the future of NAFTA," Eduardo Aspero, president of the Mexican Intermodal Association, told a recent luncheon sponsored by the Free Trade Alliance San Antonio. In transportation economics, the term "intermodal" refers to the ability to move a container by crane to different modes of transportation, including ship, truck and railroad, without having to unpack or repack the container... cont...

> Anti-corridor groups apprise locals of ways to "just say no to TTC" ... March 17/08
LUFKIN, TX -- Plots by Communists to infiltrate America. The disintegration of borders and rural areas. Citizens mobilizing and rising up against government agencies and big business. It all sounds like the plot for a summer blockbuster, but those were some of the topics addressed in a "How to Fight the TTC Workshop" held Monday at the Pitser Garrison Civic Center in Lufkin. The conference focused on informing citizens and local government officials how they can unite in trying to stop the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor 69 project... cont...

> Dozens Come Out to Trans Texas Corridor Workshop ... March 17/08
LUFKIN, TX -- More than 50 East Texans showed for a Trans-Texas Corridor workshop that lasted for most of the day. They targeted local officials to tell them the role they can play in stopping the development of the Trans Texas corridor if they choose. Hank Gilbert, the director of the statewide organization TURF, said, "Many local officials don't understand the power they have at their disposal. Local governments have more tools at their disposal than state or federal governments do."... cont...

> Super-highway plan threatens Camp Allen; petition signatures requested ... March 17/08
NAVASOTA, TX -- Plans by the Texas Department of Transportation to develop the I-69 Trans Texas Corridor project from Laredo to Texarkana will obliterate the peace and tranquility of Camp Allen if the current route is approved. One of the proposed routes for the more than $140 billion corridor goes up FM 362, the country road which passes in front of the diocese's 1,100-acre retreat and camp center one-hour northwest of Houston. The project, which would cut the county in half, is designed to be 1,200 feet wide, will have eight lanes of traffic, rail and a pipeline. "We need everyone in the diocese to let the officials in Austin know that we don't want this project destroying what has been built over the last 87 years," said George Dehan, president of Camp Allen..... cont...

> Lufkin Daily News Editorial: TTC-69 ... March 16/08
LUFKIN, TX -- East Texans are particularly concerned with Perry's proposed Trans-Texas Corridor 69 — the latest reincarnation of the proposed Interstate 69, which eventually would go from Mexico to Canada (presumably passing between or around Lufkin and Nacogdoches). Thousands of people along the proposed corridor — Perry's version of which would include rail and utility lines, not to mention toll booths — have protested TxDOT's grand plan for TTC-69..... cont...

> Anti-corridor groups plan Monday workshop at civic center ... March 16/08
LUFKIN, TX -- There's been a lot of talk about the new Trans-Texas Corridor — the next-generation "super-highway" — and opinions are varying. Now the debate is coming to Lufkin's doorstep. On Monday, the American Land Foundation, Stewards of the Range and TURF will hold a workshop at Lufkin's Pitser Garrison Civic Center on how to stop the Trans-Texas Corridor 69. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m..... cont...

> Final days for commenting on the Trans Texas Corridor ... March 15/08
NACOGDOCHES, TX -- The first round of public comments on the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor will end Wednesday, March 19, when the Texas Department of Transportation will stop receiving input on the draft environmental impact statement. That document, consisting of hundreds of pages of maps, policy and proposed routes for the superhighway, was the subject of 46 public meetings in February up and down the corridor route, which runs from Texarkana and Shreveport, La. to Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley. The meetings provided the public opportunities to learn more about the planned 1,200 foot wide corridor of roadway, rails and utility lines that have outraged thousands of Texans.... cont...

> Deadline looms for "Trans Texas Corridor" comments ... March 15/08
BRENHAM, TX -- Time is almost up for Texas residents who wish to submit a comment on the proposed Trans Texas Corridor, which must be received by the Texas Department of Transportation by Wednesday. Submissions of comments would have to be made either by mail or online at this point, and can be sent to I-69/TTC, P.O. Box 14428, Austin, TX 78761, or go to www.keeptexasmoving.com then click on “question or comment” on the left side of the screen..... cont...

> Last chance for input on I-69 ... March 14/08
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX -- People have less than a week to submit comments about the proposed 2,680-mile Interstate 69 Corridor, a Mexico-to-Canada concept discussed since 1991 and hailed as the "corridor of the future." The Texas Department of Transportation held eight public meetings in Corpus Christi and 46 throughout the state since Feb. 4 to hear from the public and comments will be taken through Wednesday. The series of meetings ended March 4, but comments can be sent via e-mail through the project's Web site, www.KeepTexasMoving.com or by mail.The corridor, also known as Trans-Texas Corridor 69, is a proposed route that would facilitate trade resulting from the North American Free Trade Agreement..... cont...

> County residents attend I-69 corridor hearing in Bryan ... March 12/08
NAVASOTA, TX -- TxDOT reported 274 people attended the public hearing for Brazos County held on March 3 at the Bryan Civic Auditorium. The crowd consisted mainly of concerned citizens from Brazos, Waller, Walker and Grimes counties interested in Brazos County's final positioning, which will greatly affect its neighboring counties on the Trans Texas Corridor. Unlike public hearings held in Trinity, Harris, Montgomery, Angelina, and Grimes counties, the Texas Department of Transportation heard words of encouragement for Rick Perry's I-69/Trans Texas Corridor vision from elected officials of Bryan and College Station.... cont...

> Fans of secluded retreat fear Trans-Texas Corridor ... March 12/08
HOUSTON, TX -- A Piney Woods retreat that has hosted national church conferences on controversial issues, celebrated the consecration of bishops and provided summer memories for thousands of teens now faces another kind of challenge. The nearly two square miles of forest, hills, fields, lakes and buildings that make up Camp Allen Conference & Retreat Center, 15 miles southeast of Navasota, lie in a two-mile-wide strip listed in state documents as the preferred route for the planned Interstate 69/Trans-Texas Corridor.... cont...

> McReynolds: Expect legislative fireworks over I-69/TTC ... March 7/08
LUFKIN, TX -- State Representative Jim McReynolds previewed the 2009 legislative session at Friday's First Friday Chamber luncheon, with the hot topics going into the biennial madhouse listed as the I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor, the growing issue of water supply, and the battle over the top 10 percent rule that allows Texas high school students to be admitted to any state college if they graduate in the top 10 percent of their class. According to McReynolds, the legislators are "not too happy" with the Texas Department of Transportation, which has been under fire for its proposed I-69/TTC plans. "This (the I-69/TTC) is something we never dreamed of, thought about, or wanted," McReynolds said. "I have attended all the meetings in my district, and I have not heard a single person that spoke in favor of it.".... cont...

> TxDOT accused of breaking federal law ... March 6/08
NAVASOTA, TX -- Texas spirit was alive and well at the Navasota DEIS public hearing on Feb. 28. Opposition groups, such as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, came from as far as Washington, D.C. to give recorded testimony, and get a first hand look at TxDOT process procedures. Assistant Director of Communications, Leigh Strope, who attended the meeting on behalf of the 34,000 Texas Teamsters Union members, says, “Teamsters want to stop the dangerous trend of selling our roads and bridges to foreign investors so they can slap tolls on the driving public. We are also concerned because the Trans-Texas Corridor would form a key link in a NAFTA superhighway, siphoning work from U.S. ports and factories. It would mean lower wages, benefits and standards for those workers who still have jobs in the United States.”.... cont...

> Katy Chamber, EDC Go On Record Opposing Trans-Texas Corridor ... March 3/08
FORT BEND, TX -- Two prominent Katy-area organizations have formally gone on the record as opposing the Trans-Texas Corridor. The Katy Area Economic Development Council and the Katy Area Chamber of Commerce passed a joint resolution last week objecting to the proposed transportation and utility right-of-way corridor. They joined a growing list of local government and civic organizations that have officially stated their opposition to the controversial project. “The information about the (Trans-Texas Corridor) has been limited and the TTC has caused a great deal of concern for the residents of Waller County, Harris County and the Katy area,” the resolution noted.... cont...

> I-69 public hearing draws large crowd ... March 3/08
HUMBLE, TX -- Heated comments flew around the room as more than 175 citizens gathered to voice their opinions at the TxDOT open house and public hearing on the I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor held at the Humble Civic Center on Feb. 28, 2008. Congress designated I-69 as a high priority corridor in 1991 and again in 1998. In 2002, TxDOT unveiled the Trans-Texas Corridor project to accommodate Texas’ future transportation needs. The TTC is a part of a 4,000-mile system of rail lines, truck and car lanes and concentrated utility routes to improve international and intrastate movement of goods and people from Canada to the border of Mexico..... cont...

> Trade corridor would destroy historically important sites ... March 3/08
NAVASOTA, TX -- Imagine if the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) decided to bulldoze the Alamo and build a tollway over the site. Outrageous, right? That's what may happen to Old San Patricio and Bluntzer. San Patricio is the birthplace of South Texas, the home of the world championship rattlesnake races. It is an area steeped in Texas history since it's founding in 1828. The Texas Trans Corridor/I-69 project has plans that may include the total destruction of Old San Patricio and the original site of Bluntzer.... cont...

> El Campo City Council joins anti-TTC forces ... March 1/08
EL CAMPO, TX -- El Campo City Council joined in the protest cries against the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor Monday night advocating an improved and expanded U.S. 59 instead. Possible economic impacts from the proposed TTC corridor caused concern with draft versions of the roadway limiting access, cutting through family farms and bypassing many cities completely. "The city of El Campo has for many years supported the I-69 initiative, which is designed to seek Federal government assistance to transform U.S. Highway 59 into Interstate status, utilizing and or expanding the existing right of way and therefore minimize(ing) the need to take and condemn new right of way," the resolution approved unanimously Monday reads..... cont...

> Senators says Trans-Texas Corridor is a dead idea ... Feb 29/08
MIDLAND, TX -- Seliger said the controversial Trans-Texas Corridor of super highways is a dead idea because the sanctity of property rights is a cornerstone of Texas philosophy and too much farm and ranchland would be condemned. "The Trans-Texas Corridor is probably not going to happen," the senator said. "There is a place for eminent domain, but it needs to be used very carefully.".... cont...

> Proposed TTC finds no fans or support in Fort Bend County ... Feb 28/08
FORT BEND, TX -- The proposed Trans Texas Corridor did not find any fans, or any support, in Fort Bend County this week. At public meetings hosted by the Texas Department of Transportation in both Katy and Rosenberg, speaker after speaker, many in emotional tones, voiced their opposition to the proposed transportation corridor. No one spoke up in support of the proposal at either meeting. The Tuesday night session took place at Katy High School’s Performing Arts Center with over 200 residents in attendance. The evening before at the Rosenberg Civic and Convention Center, a similar crowd showed up to voice their opinions. In both cases, speakers lined up to tell transportation officials that the proposal was “un-American” and urged them to stop the project.... cont...

> Trans Texas Corridor: All in favor? None ... Feb 26/08
KENDLETON, TX -- A handful of Kendleton residents were among several dozen to speak out against the Trans-Texas Corridor at a public hearing Monday night in Rosenberg. “I personally think it's a slap in the face for Texas to take the land for pennies on the dollar, to put a road on it and to make you pay a toll for it,” said Jeremy West, one of the speakers from Kendleton. The Trans-Texas Corridor is a proposal for a network of highways, rail lines and utilities throughout Texas that would be financed by private interests who would seek to profit through tolls and other fees.... cont...

> I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor to hold public hearing ... Feb 25/08
HUMBLE, TX -- Whether for or against the construction of the I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor, the Texas Department of Transportation is interested in Texas residents’ opinions. The Trans-Texas Corridor proposal calls for a 4,000-mile system of rail lines, 10 lanes of roadway, utility routes and consumer facilities, crossing the state. Suggested benefits, according to TxDOT, are less congestion, more reliable transportation networks and improved air quality. Ray Anderson, a citizen from Kingwood, has concerns regarding the validity of the project.... cont...

> Why the rage against the Trans-Texas Corridor? ... Feb 22/08
HEMPSTEAD, TX -- The Trans Texas Corridor may be the most controversial highway ever built in Texas. That is, if it ever gets built. All month, there have been public hearings throughout the area where people have been showing up in droves to oppose it. People don’t drive very fast on Odis Styers’ family ranch near Hempstead, but TxDOT wants that to change. “It’s quiet, it’s peaceful,” Styers said. “It’s a shame a road is gonna mess it up.” The road is the Trans Texas Corridor. The plans call for it to come through here, and with it: separate lanes for cars and trucks, speeds topping 70 mph, trains and tolls. So far, you’ve only seen part of the story.... cont...

> TxDOT project violates private property rights ... Feb 22/08
CAMERON, TX -- If you attended last Thursday night's TxDOT meeting about the 79 Loop around Rockdale, you heard some very disturbing information. No one likes their property taken by eminent domain. But, the ‘new way' of doing road construction in Texas goes against every time-honored principle of private property rights and free enterprise that our society has practiced since our founding. Simply put; TxDOT is claiming that they are running low on funds for new road construction at this time. But, the state plans to take/buy more right of way than they need at this time.... cont...

> Local TTC/I-69 opposition group gains momentum ... Feb 20/08
NAVASOTA, TX -- "We could've talked for another hour. People were really getting into it,” said Reuben Grassl, who organized a Feb. 14 community meeting in Shiro to discuss the proposed I-69 corridor route through Grimes County. The meeting was led by Grassl, Charles Wendt, and Edna Keasling and was attended by a cross section of 65 people from as far as Madisonville and Iola, who showed up with both questions and suggestions for opposition plans. “We gave them the latest information we received from the four recent meetings in the area, because a lot of information TxDoT and TTC put out would almost take a lawyer to help figure out,” said Grassl. Grassl added that one of the group's goals is to help residents fully understand the purpose of the upcoming public hearing on the I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that will take place at the Grimes County Expo Center in Navasota on February 28.... cont...

> Toll Road Debate Widens Divide in East Texas ... Feb 18/08
AUSTIN, TX -- Disagreements over one route proposal for the I-69 leg of the Trans-Texas Corridor are causing a widening rift between local leaders in east Texas and elected officials at the State Capitol. A new series of hearings are taking place up and down what is now U.S. 59 from Texarkana to Laredo and Brownsville, as required by federal law before the highway project moves forward. Last week, a hearing was held in Nacogdoches where farmers and ranchers got to ask questions of the state transportation department. "I've attended three of the meetings, at least the meetings in my district, in my four-county area and I have yet to hear anyone testify in support of the Trans-Texas Corridor at this point," says State Representative Jim McReynolds (D-Lufkin)..... cont...

> Galveston Residents rally against Trans-Texas Corridor ... Feb 16/08
TEXAS CITY, TX -- A massive superhighway that Texans have protested at public hearings statewide drew heated opposition among Galveston County residents, who said they feared the toll road would cripple the local shipping industry and do nothing to improve insufficient hurricane evacuation routes. The Trans-Texas Corridor would wind from Laredo to Corpus Christi, wrap around the western edge of Greater Houston, parallel Interstate 59 through East Texas and leave the state in Texarkana. But residents at a public hearing Thursday night in Texas City questioned the real purpose for the road, which would also be part of a national Interstate 69 corridor that would stretch from Texas to Minnesota.... cont...

> Court to view I-69 Corridor presentation... Dec 9/07
WALKER COUNTY, TX -- The Walker County Commissioners Court will hear a presentation on the I-69 Corridor project during a regular session today. Michael Parks will give the presentation to the five-member court at 9 a.m. at the courthouse. Sherri Pegoda, administrative assistant to the County Judge Danny Pierce, said the presentation will educate the court on how the project will affect Walker County. According to Keep Texas Moving Web site, “On November 13, the Texas Department of Transportation, in coordination with the Federal Highway Administration, released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposal for the I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor Project.”... cont...

> Controversial Trans-Texas Corridor Plans Forge Ahead... Dec 4/07
AUSTIN, TX -- The official memo has gone out from the state's transportation department to two private companies to move ahead with plans to build a highly-controversial superhighway which critics say hurt Texas, and cause an erosion in commerce nationwide. Plans for the Trans-Texas corridor were being formulated 16 years ago, but Governor Rick Perry's office says it "lacked the billions of dollars in funding needed to construct it". On Monday, two private companies were asked to submit detailed proposals on developing and financing the project, designed to provide a high-speed ground link between Laredo and Dallas... cont...

> TXDOT releases I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor draft... Nov 21/07
NAVASOTA, TX -- The Texas Department of Transportation in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration released its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor project, last week saying it will make transportation safer, faster, more reliable and provide for faster hurricane evacuation. In announcing the release of the DEIS TXxDOT says existing highways will be considered first, yet in the case of Grimes County the proposed route splits the county, east and west. The 1,072 page report, representing nearly three years of work with local officials... cont...