July 14, 2020 - TRA Newswire -
The draft of the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) 2021 Unified Transportation Program (UTP) is now available for the public to review and comment. The UTP is TxDOT’s 10-year plan that guides transportation project development across the state. Organized into 12 funding categories, with each one addressing a specific type of work, the UTP authorizes the distribution of construction dollars expected to be available over the next 10 years.
"As usual, rail programs end up on the short end of the transportation stick because TxDOT is limited in funding from the state legislature for any passenger or freight rail project," according to Texas Rail Advocates President Peter LeCody. "
LeCody went on to say "we have another opportunity in 2021 at the state capitol to make our voices heard. Highways have been able to tap into federal matching funds for decades. It's time that our lawmakers did the same for rail projects. We've missed out on billions of dollars in federal funds over the last 10 years because there is no state match for rail transportation programs authorized by Congress. Those fed funds have gone to many other states, not to Texas."
The TxDOT 2021 UTP draft agrees: Most of TxDOT’s revenue comes from the gas tax and is dedicated by the state constitution to highway projects. The lack of a secure source of rail funding has limited RRD’s ability to develop rail projects. For the near term, funding support for freight and passenger rail projects in Texas is mainly limited to federal sources. Most of the existing rail system is privately owned, so the state’s role is restricted to improving rail transportation options. However, there remains increasing interest in using public-private partnerships to develop and improve Texas rail systems.
You can review the 2021 UTP draft copy here:
https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/division/transportation-planning/utp.html
The Rail Division section of the 210 page document comprises pages 173 to 176. Page 176 is a list of unfunded freight rail projects. There are NO TxDOT passenger rail projects listed.
You can make a public comment using a form provided here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2021UTP
The UTP public comment period is underway and runs through 4 p.m. on Monday, August 10th.
A virtual public hearing will be conducted at 10 a.m. on July 28, 2020.
The draft of the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) 2021 Unified Transportation Program (UTP) is now available for the public to review and comment. The UTP is TxDOT’s 10-year plan that guides transportation project development across the state. Organized into 12 funding categories, with each one addressing a specific type of work, the UTP authorizes the distribution of construction dollars expected to be available over the next 10 years.
"As usual, rail programs end up on the short end of the transportation stick because TxDOT is limited in funding from the state legislature for any passenger or freight rail project," according to Texas Rail Advocates President Peter LeCody. "
LeCody went on to say "we have another opportunity in 2021 at the state capitol to make our voices heard. Highways have been able to tap into federal matching funds for decades. It's time that our lawmakers did the same for rail projects. We've missed out on billions of dollars in federal funds over the last 10 years because there is no state match for rail transportation programs authorized by Congress. Those fed funds have gone to many other states, not to Texas."
The TxDOT 2021 UTP draft agrees: Most of TxDOT’s revenue comes from the gas tax and is dedicated by the state constitution to highway projects. The lack of a secure source of rail funding has limited RRD’s ability to develop rail projects. For the near term, funding support for freight and passenger rail projects in Texas is mainly limited to federal sources. Most of the existing rail system is privately owned, so the state’s role is restricted to improving rail transportation options. However, there remains increasing interest in using public-private partnerships to develop and improve Texas rail systems.
You can review the 2021 UTP draft copy here:
https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/division/transportation-planning/utp.html
The Rail Division section of the 210 page document comprises pages 173 to 176. Page 176 is a list of unfunded freight rail projects. There are NO TxDOT passenger rail projects listed.
You can make a public comment using a form provided here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2021UTP
The UTP public comment period is underway and runs through 4 p.m. on Monday, August 10th.
A virtual public hearing will be conducted at 10 a.m. on July 28, 2020.