Saturday's Internet Edition, May 17, 2008.
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There are currently two bills that have been presented to the Legislature during this session that limit control and expanse of the Trans-Texas Corridor. The most recent filing was made on March 21, 2005 by Houston Representative Garnet Coleman. House Bill 3363 proposes a 2-year moratorium on both the implementation of the Trans-Texas Corridor plan and imposing a toll on any portion of a state highway or roadway that does not currently have one in place before the effective date of this Act. Additionally this Act requires a complete study of the financing of the Corridor as well as Texas Department of Transportation annual funding reports in order to clarify some of these short-term and long-term issues.
The other bill that has been filed was written by Lee County’s State Representative Robby Cook (D-Eagle Lake) along with State Representatives Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) and Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton). House Bill 1273 addresses some frequent criticisms of the Trans-Texas Corridor. The bill would limit the proposed Corridor to 800 feet from 1200 feet. It would also eliminate the franchising of businesses along the corridor by road contractors. This provision would have allowed gas stations and restaurants along the corridor so that travelers would not have to exit the corridor.
The intent of this legislation is to allow for more transparency, accountability and less of a footprint on the land and ensure that rural areas can access the Trans- Texas Corridor.
The Trans-Texas Corridor is a 30 to 50 year project that proposes to build an 800-mile-long corridor from Oklahoma to Mexico through Central Texas that will include roads, rail, high speed passenger, and freight and utility zones, which will include, water, electrical, natural gas, petroleum, fiber optic and telecommunications.
Three of the four proposed routes go through Lee County. The decision on which route the corridor will take is scheduled to be made before the end of this Summer.
A comment form that can be mailed to the Trans-Texas authorities along with a copy to your representative can be found on Page 2 of Section A of today’s paper.