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AUSTIN - "Ric Williamson was a visionary. As a member and chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission, he brought passion and focus to meeting many of the challenges facing Texas today and for generations to come. The entire TxDOT family will miss his dedication and his leadership. At this time, our thoughts are with his wife, children and grandchildren." |
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During the next two months, Texans will be able to shape the state's future transportation system during an unprecedented public comment period for Interstate 69.
Beginning January 15, the Texas Department of Transportation will hold 11 town hall meetings followed by 46 public hearings beginning on February 4. (See attached list for a complete schedule)
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AUSTIN - Advisory committees are being developed to provide public input on where the Trans-Texas Corridor should be located and what it should look like.
The committees will enhance public involvement during on-going Trans-Texas Corridor environmental studies and provide guidance on how the corridor can be developed to best serve local communities.
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AUSTIN - To help inform the public of the dangers of drinking and driving, a new program is being implemented by the Texas Department of Transportation that will allow friends and family members of DWI victims to purchase memorial signs to be placed near the location of fatal crashes.
The program is the result of legislation aimed at reducing the more than 1,670 traffic fatalities in 2006 that involved drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
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AUSTIN - Continuing its high priority effort to develop a 650-mile interstate quality highway from south Texas to northeast Texas, state transportation officials are taking a step further in the search for a private sector partner who can best devise a plan to build this critical facility.
Today, a formal request for proposals will be issued by the Texas Department of Transportation to two private developer teams for detailed plans on how to finance, design, construct, operate and maintain I-69/TTC.
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AUSTIN - State transportation officials are reminding citizens of the opportunity to offer comments on proposed rules for allowing electronic billboards along Texas highways.
In August, the Texas Transportation Commission voted to propose the rules that would allow changeable electronic signs to be located only in municipalities or their extraterritorial jurisdiction and the municipality must approve each one. No changeable electronic signs would be allowed in unincorporated areas.
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AUSTIN - State transportation officials today approved sending $28.7 million to public transportation providers for FY 2008.
The action follows recent work by legislative leaders to restore $17.6 million in state grant funding for small urban and rural transit providers for the FY 2008 - 2009 biennium.
"Legislative leaders restored funding for these transit providers to historical levels," said Eric Gleason, TxDOTs director of public transportation.
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AUSTIN - Existing highways will be considered first as state transportation officials continue work to identify an alignment for I-69/TTC, an effort that will include unprecedented public involvement opportunities during the next several months, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. |
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AUSTIN ─ Help is on the way for communities across Texas that are working to make walking and bicycling to school safer for students.
The Texas Transportation Commission today approved approximately $24.7 million in projects for the Safe Routes to Schools program. Statewide, 244 projects in more than 66 communities were approved.
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AUSTIN - Amadeo Saenz, a transportation engineer with 29 years state experience, including leadership roles in Pharr and Austin, is the new executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, becoming the first Hispanic to head the agency in its 90-year history.
Saenz, 51, was named to the state's top transportation position today by the Texas Transportation Commission. He becomes the 19th person to head the transportation agency since it was created in 1917.
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