Texas kills 50-year road building plan after outcry

[Doctor Cynic]

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Texas has killed its 50-year, multibillion-dollar road-building plan after criticism that it would have wrested too much land from private owners and failed to focus on short-term needs, a state official said on Tuesday.

"The Trans Texas Corridor concept, as previously known and discussed, has been set aside," said Chris Lippincott, a spokesman for the state transportation department.

Lippincott, speaking by telephone, said that the state would pursue a revised plan that will focus on stand-alone projects, instead of the coordinated, $150 billion effort that included utilities, freight and passenger trains in addition to new or expanded highways.

The scaled back plans meant the state would narrow the width of the corridor of land it would take from private owners for its road-building to 600 feet from 1,200 feet.

"The changes you saw today reflect the concerns we've heard about the breadth of the right of way we needed to acquire and the 50-year complex network of assets," he said.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN0643137120090106

[aquart]

1. Would the translation sorta be:

Eminent domain won't get us the bargain we thought it would, now that values have dropped so much? Having all that condemned property...just ain't the moneymaking asset it was intended?

[WriteDown]

6. Doubtful..

Texas property values have held up pretty well which is awesome for me :). This sounded like a boondoggle though.

[damntexdem]

8. I think it translates as: the economic meltdown killed Perry's pet project.

And it was a literal fast track for outsourcing.

[illuminaughty]

2. They got a little more resistance than they thought

When I told my family about this project and that the map showed it coming right through their town, they thought it was just another one of my tinfoil moments.

Then I got a panicked call about a year ago. Since then they've been going to meetings all across the State fighting this thing. They wanted land owners to submit reasons why their land should be spared and they told them not to stress the emotional/financial attachment. Rather, emphasize the ecological problems that would occur. Last week they said that word was out that it was dead. But I doubt citizens will trust the govt.'s word after realizing how massive a project had been created and planned without their knowing.

Thanks for the post.

[pattmarty]

3. I'm not from Texas, but I have heard of this "corridor" before............

............and it sounded like a boondoggle for some interests right from the start.

[liberal N proud]

4. Good, this thing sounded like a nightmare

They hoped they could build this super highway and other states from Oklahoma through Missouri, Iowa and beyond would follow in their footsteps.

[justabob]

5. glad to hear it

This project bothered me from the moment I heard about it in a class I was taking. The only really good thing I saw/see in it is new rail, but admittedly I don't know a whole lot about the project. I do hope rail becomes more of a priority in Texas and elsewhere.

[bbgrunt]

7. doesn't sound quite dead enough to me. They are only

reducing the width, not shelving the project according to the OP