Apr 4, 2006 12:34 am US/Central
Questions About Location Of Trans Texas Corridor
by Jack Fink
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
A controversy is brewing over the location of a new super toll road that will stretch from the Mexican border through north Texas and into Oklahoma.
It's called the 'Trans Texas Corridor' and some people are concerned about the preliminary route that will be unveiled Tuesday.
State planners say the upcoming 'Trans Texas Corridor' would dramatically improve the state highway system.
The toll road, built and financed by a private firm, would include separate lanes for cars and large trucks and have room for freight and high speed commuter trains.
Tuesday the state is set to release a preliminary location on where the road would go through north Texas. As it stands at least one Dallas County Commissioner worries it will be placed as many as 40 miles east of Dallas.
"A long way from Dallas would mean that it would hurt the commerce in Dallas," said Maureen Dickey, Dallas County Commissioner.
Grady Smithy, a veteran Duncanville city councilman, serves on the state's advisory committee for the 'Trans Texas Corridor'.
He believes the state will eventually select the same route through north Texas that regional transportation planners have already proposed: Highway 360 north to Interstate-20.
From there trucks would go west to Fort Worth or east to Dallas.
"We have the opportunity to bring that back to the North Central Texas Council of Government's plan," Smithy said.
But Dickey disagrees. "I think that this process and where this alignment goes is going to be driven by the private company that decides to take on the Trans Texas Corridor," she said.
It's not just the location of the super toll road that's causing concern. Officials are also concerned about the process, much of which has been done in secret.
Even those who've been sitting on the advisory committees don't know where the road could be built.
The state says it's held more than 100 public displays of potential routes since 2004 and that many public hearings are planned.
The final location will be decided later.
(CBS 11 News)
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