Program will pay for I-69 research
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

Funding to figure out the best way to finance the proposed Interstate 69 will soon be available through a new federal program.

The proposed highway was one of six interstate routes selected for U.S. Department of Transportation's new Corridors of the Future program on Monday, according to a Tx-DOT news release.

Among the most immediate benefits will be $800,000 in state funding to study the proposed route and innovative financing approaches to the construction of the route.

Those approaches could include public-private partnerships, tolls and loans, according to the release.

A former member of the area I-69 Alliance Board, Precinct 1 Commissioner Mickey Reynolds said any federal funding directed toward the corridor should be seen as a positive move.

"The corridor is something we've been fighting for a long time," Reynolds said.

"The board has been looking outside the box for funding options. One of the original proposals has been for it to be a toll road and that hasn't met with a very positive response."

Other potential benefits of being a Corridor of the Future included expedited environmental review, accelerated review and conditional approval of experimental features, expedited process for Federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act credit assistance and priority consideration for tolling programs, according to the release.

Of the six routes designated as Corridors of the Future, I-69 is the only proposed route with the other five being existing Interstates.

As proposed, I-69 would stretch from the Mexican border to Michigan, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation

Other Interstates on the list are I-95, I-70, I-15, I-5 and I-10. The concept behind the Corridors of the Future program is to "develop innovative national and regional approaches to reduce congestion and improve the efficiency of freight deliv- ery. The selected corridors carry 22.7 percent of the nation's daily intestate travel," according to the release.

The I-69 application was submitted by the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation on behalf of the Interstate 69 Steering Committee, which includes representatives of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Michigan.

When completed, the Interstate would be a 2,680-mile international and interstate trade corridor extending from Mexico to Canada.

The release states, "This corridor has already been identified by Congress as a high priority corridor, is one of the farthest along in clearly defining its project list, and has the political support of all the states involved."

Alliance board member Billie Jones said she hopes the inclusion of I-69 in the program will prompt Wharton County to reconsider its decision to drop out of the I-69 Alliance.

"As a board, we were hoping to receive this designation and we were certainly working with our representatives in Washington D.C. for it," she said.

"I think this pushes us up in the eyes of elected officials at both the state and federal levels and near where we want to be in terms of being thought of importance.

"And I hope it makes us important enough that it will bring Wharton County back to the table as a member of the Alliance. We need to have a say in the future of the project."

For more information on the selected corridors and proposals, visit www://www.fightgridlocknow. gov.