The Texas Department of Transportation has adopted a 10-year statewide roadway construction plan with a record $85 billion price tag, officials announced last week. The Unified Transportation Plan authorizes the distribution of construction money that is expected to be available during the next decade.
Within that framework, TxDOT works with elected officials and local planning organizations, as well as the public, to pick and fund the state’s highest priority transportation projects.
In addition to highways the UTP addresses public transportation, aviation, rail, maritime and freight and international trade. Many projects in the plan are highways identified on the state’s 100 most congested roadways list.
“The UTP reflects a continued focus on improving transportation safety as the top priority, maintaining our current system, addressing traffic congestion, and improving statewide connectivity over the next decade,” TxDOT Commission Chairman J. Bruce Bugg Jr. said.
Funding for UTP comes from “legislative and voter-approved initiatives that allocate portions of oil and gas taxes, sales taxes, and other money to the state highway fund,” according to the TxDOT news release.
RRC approves rule
More than 18 months after Winter Storm Uri shut down much of the state’s electric grid, the Texas Railroad Commission last week adopted the state’s first weatherization rules requiring natural gas facilities to protect gas flow to power plants.
“These new rules ensure our state’s natural gas supply chain is prepared for extreme heat and freezing cold,” RRC Chairman Wayne Christian said. “These rules will ensure that the natural gas facilities Texans rely on for reliable energy are operational when we need it most.”
Fines for administrative violations could reach up to $1 million.
