I-69 Project Stalled in Texas
"We should have built this interstate 10 years ago," said U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas. "The government has an obligation to build infrastructure for economic growth."
Gramm was joined by Lt. Gov. Rick Perry as he visited several sites along the proposed highway Tuesday, including Edinburg, Harlingen and Robstown. At each spot along U.S. Highway 281 and U.S. Highway 77, they dedicated signs designating parts of the future I-69 route.
The so-called NAFTA superhighway will connect Mexico with Canada, probably increasing industrial and commercial trade, luring tourist travel and providing a faster, more efficient route to and from the Rio Grande Valley.
inks are about 150 miles away at Laredo and Corpus Christi.
The sign unveilings do not mean construction will start anytime soon.
There is no timetable for building, and no federal or state money has been put aside for I-69 projects, said Amadeo Saenz, district engineer for the Texas Department of Transportation's Pharr District, which stretches from Brownsville to Zapata.
Border advocates were disappointed by this year's Texas Legislature session, which failed to fund nearly $1 billion in road projects proposed for the border.
Rather than fund construction for I-69 with one allocation, the current highway will be upgraded piecemeal to interstate standards, Saenz said.
After the sign unveiling on Tuesday, TxDOT officials said five different route options were still being considered for South Texas.
Most I-69 scenarios involve a two- or three-way split in the highway somewhere near the Coastal Bend, with spurs extending toward different points along the Texas-Mexico border.
A 1998 federal highway bill designated the U.S. 281 corridor in South Texas as the route for an I-69 Central, and U.S. 77 as the corridor for an I-69 East.
Under some scenarios, a third spur would run southwest to Laredo.
Saenz said the eventual routes of the interstate in South Texas, as well as other parts of the country, have not been finalized.
