Trans Texas Corridor redux? I-69 presses forward

Whether they call it a different name or not, I-69 is Trans Texas Corridor TTC-69 and needs to be done as a free interstate or not at all. The primary purpose is to move freight, not people, and trucks have already proven with their wheels that they won't take a toll road. Look no further than the failing SH 130 bypass around Austin. Any day of the week, any time of the day, two lanes of I-35 remain stacked with 18 wheelers who refuse to pay $50 one way to bypass congestion by taking SH 130. They'll sit in congestion rather than lose that much money taking toll roads. Even worse, the original intent was to make TTC-69 a foreign-owned toll road where the taxation is in the hands of a foreign company who charges much higher toll rates.

Officials seeking progress on I-69 planning
By Peggy Fikac and Dug Begley
February 7, 2013
San Antonio Express-News

AUSTIN — An ambitious multibillion-dollar effort to push forward a new interstate spanning Texas was highlighted at the Texas Capitol on Wednesday as lawmakers struggle with transportation funding needs.

The Texas leg of the Interstate 69 project would stretch from the Lower Rio Grande Valley to Texarkana, tracking U.S. 77 and U.S. 281 in South Texas and U.S. 59 in the Houston area north.
Officials called the project, estimated to cost $16 billion in some mix of primarily state and federal money, important to safety and economic development as goods move north to the Midwest and northeast.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Officials-seeking-progress-on-I-69-planning-4257510.php#ixzz2Mj0RRNgh