What is the Trans Texas Corridor?
INFORMATION ON THE TRANS TEXAS CORRIDOR
Download/view a TTC 69 study area map
PROVIDED BY CITIZENS FOR A BETTER WALLER COUNTY
The Trans Texas Corridor is a planned multi-modal infrastructure project that will ultimately be 4000 miles long and cost 184 billion dollars. The project was proposed by Governor Rick Perry in 2002. Some facts to know about this project:
It may be up to 1200 feet wide in places -- (imagine the length of 4 football fields).
It will be a Toll road --with 6 passenger vehicle lanes and 4 truck lanes.
It will be a Railroad Corridor --with high speed rail, commuter rail, and freight rail.
It will be a Utility Corridor --for natural gas and petroleum pipelines, electric/telecommunication lines, water lines.
On and Off access ramps and crossovers are only planned for U.S. Interstates and Highways, because of the unusually large width of the corridor and the expense associated with building ramps and crossovers. Local governments will have input on the placement of additional crossovers, but may have to fund these projects.
The Texas Department of Transportation currently is working on two Trans Texas Corridor projects, TTC-35, roughly paralleling I-35 (San Antonio, Austin, Waco, Dallas/Fort Worth) and TTC-69, roughly paralleling U.S. Highway 59 (Victoria, Houston, Lufkin).
Texas Department of Transportation has more information at www.keeptexasmoving.org
The TTC-69 Project
The TTC-69 project is one of the high priority corridors of the Trans Texas Corridor. It will be approximately 600 miles long, running from the Texas/Mexico border to northeast Texas, and roughly following U.S. Highway 59. The TTC-69 project is presently studying a bypass route for the Houston area.
Waller and Grimes Counties are in the current study area.
5000 acres of private property in Waller County will be taken to build the TTC-69.
TxDOT is presently working on the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and expects to release a map of a narrowed 4 mile wide study area sometime in the Spring of 2007. Further hearings will be held then.
Final Federal environmental approval for the preferred TTC-69 route could come as early as the Winter of 2007-2008. Typical right of way acquistion/condemnation would begin at this stage.
Two international consortiums (coalitions of banks and corporations) have submitted initial proposals to TxDOT asking to develop the TTC-69 (details remain proprietary secrets).
"Bluebonnet Infrastructure Investors" Cintra [a company based in Spain] (Equity Owner), Citigroup, Earth Tech, Blanton & Associates, Maunsell, Othon, W.W. Webber, LLC, Ferrovial Agroman S.A.,
"The ZAI ACS TTC-69 Team" Zachry American Infrastructure Inc. (Equity Owner), ACS Infrastructure Development Inc. [a company based in Spain] (Equity Owner), Steer Davies Gleave, UBS Securities, LLC, Dannenbaum Engineering Corporation, ACI Consulting, Sociedad Iberica de Construcciones Electricas, S.A. (SICE), Dragados, Williams Brothers Construction, Inc. (WB), Zachry Construction Corporation, Inc.
These two consortiums will now provide TxDOT with more detailed plans/proposals.
TxDOT says they could choose a partner (to acquire, design, develop, finance, construct, maintain and/or operate the I-69/TTC) and could sign a comprehensive development agreement (CDA) by late 2007.
Details on the first TTC contract remain secret. TxDOT and the Cintra/Zachry team have refused to release the details of the TTC-35 project despite the Texas Attorney General ruling (May 2005) that these records must be released to the public.
The Citizens for a Better Waller County (CBWC), a grassroots, nonpartisan organization, is opposed to the building of the TTC through Waller County because of its abusive use of eminent domain to seize unwarranted and excessive amounts of private property and because of the 50 year long, secret, non-compete terms of the TTC contracts which violates free enterprise and open government principles.
The CBWC supports efforts for a strong, genuine Eminent Domain Amendment to the Texas Constitution.
The CBWC will campaign for "replacement value" instead of "fair market value" in appraisals and will support legislation to overturn Hubenak v. San Jacinto Gas Transmission Co., a 2004 Texas Supreme Court case which allows state governmental entities to offer less than "fair market value" in condemnation proceedings, and thereby placing the burden of proof (and expense) on the landowner to show otherwise.
It is the CBWC's goal to help inform the citizenry on issues that might result in decisions, policies, practices, and projects that will affect us in our lives and livelihoods in Waller County.
Further Sources of Information on the Trans Texas Corridor
