Perry proposed the concept of the corridor during his 2002 reelection campaign. The legislature approved the plan, and it became law in 2003. Perry's plan envisions the building of corridors parallel to interstate highways to ease congestion, decrease air pollution in urban areas and move hazardous materials out of city centers. The private-public financing arrangement would minimize state investment in the corridor, which, state officials said, would be expanded across Texas only as traffic growth dictated and private investors were found.
"The vision that the governor put out there was our interstate system is over 50 years old and, especially at key choke points in some of our cities, it's at its end," said state Rep. Mike Krusee, the author of the corridor bill. "It's time to think about the next 50 years. We've got to basically build another interstate system."
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) first proposed the Trans-Texas Corridor project in his 2002 reelection campaign.
(Eric Gay -- AP)
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But how to do it was the challenge. There were two choices, as state transportation officials saw it: raise the gasoline tax -- which barely covers the cost of highway repairs, much less expansion -- or finance new roads through tolls.
"We immediately turned to the private sector," said Ric Williamson, chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission. "We said we have the law, the will, the philosophy, the mentality to entertain your proposals. . . . We're out of money."
The law creating the Trans-Texas Corridor allows the state to acquire property under the power of eminent domain and then to sell or lease the property for revenue-generating facilities, from hotels to gas stations and convenience stores. Texas economist Ray Perryman estimates the corridor could generate $135 billion in economic development for the state over 50 years.
That is good news for the state and the toll-road operators. But big-city and small-town officials say that is bad news for them. The River of Trade Corridor Coalition represents about 20 communities from Dallas to tiny Hooks, all alongside interstates, that are concerned about losing business if traffic is diverted to roadways miles away.
"We have economies that are based on the truck traffic," said Michael Hurtt, mayor of DeSoto, a community of 43,000 that borders the southern edge of Dallas along I-35. "Don't destroy those."
Ranchers and farmers are worried about losing as much as half a million acres of arable land without much recourse or fair compensation, said the Texas Farm Bureau, which represents 383,000 farmers and ranchers. The bureau, a traditional backer of Perry, who grew up on a West Texas farm, voted at its state convention in December to oppose the Trans-Texas Corridor.
The Sierra Club and other environmental groups are concerned about the impact of massive building and the potential paving over of parks and wetlands to accommodate 12 lanes of corridor. Even the governor's staunchest supporter, the Texas Republican Party, expressed opposition to the corridor in its state platform last summer.
"The party rank and file feels very strongly about property rights, and the plan includes condemnation of a number of acres," said state GOP spokeswoman Sherry Sylvester.
Anti-toll-road groups have sprung up across the state, including Corridor Watch, run by the former city manager of Columbus, a town off I-10 midway between Houston and San Antonio. David Stall predicts the Trans-Texas Corridor could hurt small-town economies by diverting traffic off current interstates and removing thousands of acres from property tax rolls.
"It's a lose-lose," he said.
