Work Begins on Feasibility Study for Texas portion of Gulf Coast Strategic Highway
August 25, 2008
AUSTIN - The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has initiated a feasibility study to evaluate transportation improvements along US 190 and Interstate 10 from El Paso to the Texas-Louisiana border.
The study team is led by Wilbur Smith Associates, a firm with broad experience evaluating project options, traffic and feasibility of alternatives. This work is expected to be complete by early 2010.
The study is looking at a backbone east-west route that would follow Interstate 10 from El Paso eastward and then follow US 190 from a point in Pecos County to Killeen and Fort Hood in Central Texas. From Killeen the route would follow US 190 and Interstate 35 to Temple. From there it would follow US 190 and other existing routes eastward to Bryan and Madisonville where it would run concurrently with Interstate 45 to Huntsville. At that point it would follow US 190 through East Texas, going through Livingston, Woodville and Jasper. From Jasper it would follow the existing route of Texas Hwy 63 to Burkeville and then across the Sabine River. This is a total east-west corridor in Texas of approximately 860 miles.
The study will also analyze transportation improvements that would enhance the connection between major U.S Army installations and the Port of Corpus Christi and the Port of Beaumont, both designated as strategic military ports. These two ports handled more than 40 percent of the equipment and material deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003.
The US 190/I-10 study will assess the feasibility of various transportation improvements including the widening of the existing highway to provide additional travel lanes and upgrading sections to meet interstate highway standards. It will also look at potential rail components for some portions of the route.
Troop levels at both Fort Hood and Fort Bliss are being increased substantially as part of a realignment program. The Wilbur Smith consultants will evaluate the impact of these increases as well as other military deployment issues associated with connecting military bases to one another and to Texas ports. They will also identify economic development and institutional issues related to development and construction of transportation improvements along the identified routes. The analysis will include evaluating funding alternatives.
The study team has been conducting meetings with community leaders and with representatives of military installations.