WESLACO, RGV - The director of Hidalgo County Metropolitan Planning Organization says three quarters of a billion dollars is coming to the Rio Grande Valley for seven major transportation projects.
Andrew Canon spoke today at a meeting of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Corporation.
Previewing a Texas Transportation Commission meeting set to be held in Austin on Thursday, Canon said the money will be coming to the Valley over a ten year period.
“Tomorrow morning, at the TxDOT commission, starting at 9 a.m., will be voting on a ten-year plan which we effectively call the UTP,” Canon said.
UTP stands for Unified Transportation Plan, a ten-year plan that is updated each year by the Texas Department of Transportation.
“A tremendous amount of money is going to be coming the way of the Valley. I invite everybody, if they have the opportunity, just simply to google TXDOT UTP. It will take you to the draft UTP that is on the website right now.”
Editor’s Note: Click here to see the draft UTP document.
Canon said he had picked out seven highlighted projects he wanted to share with the LRGVDC board of directors. “This is by no means a complete listing of projects,” Canon said.
The highlighted projects with dollar amounts are:
“Just with these highlighted programs alone, it is three-quarters of a billion dollars coming to the Valley in the ten-year plan that will be adopted tomorrow morning. It is pretty tremendous,” Canon said.
The reason the Valley is getting more funding is because its three MPOs have merged into one. The three are Hidalgo County MPO, Brownsville MPO, and Harlingen-San Benito MPO. The RGV MPO officially starts Oct. 1. Canon said he is confident even more transportation dollars will be coming to the Valley next year.
“I feel very confident that - I will leave it to the elected officials to provide more guidance - with the RGV MPO moving forward - Oct. 1 officially but the board is already meeting - I think that with the 2021 UTP update there will be even more money coming our way,” Canon said.
“Being the fifth largest MPO in the State of Texas, we will have more relevant projects in the future. So, I think it is pretty tremendous. It is almost one billion dollars for half a dozen projects.”
Canon said the TTC meeting will be live-streamed.
Canon’s remarks at the LRGVDC board meeting echo similar comments he made at a recent McAllen Economic Development Corporation meeting.
“We are moving forward, it is pretty exciting. We are working with TxDOT on the Unified Transportation Plan. The things coming down to the Valley are pretty remarkable. They will be adopting this document on Aug. 29,” Canon told the MEDC board of directors.
“The commission is recommending the authorizing of two projects, State Highway 365, a Hidalgo County RMA project which connects the Pharr Bridge to Anzalduas Bridge, and State Highway 550, which is a Cameron County RMA project that goes from I-69 E to the Port of Brownsville. I think those will move forward,” Canon said.
A key point about the UTP, Canon said, is that once a project is the ten-year window local regional mobility authorities can begin environmental reviews.
“You are able to do right of way acquisition, you are able to do advanced funding agreements. This is really the time you can accelerate your project and get them moving forward,” Canon said.
As with the LRGVDC meeting, Canon listed some of the big Valley projects in the UTP.
"281 from 490 to the county line is budgeted for $270 million to build that out to a freeway facility. State Highway 68, which starts around Val Verde and goes north around 490, will essentially connect I-2 to I-69 C. $180 million there. Ware Road, continuing from Trenton to 1925, $35 million. I-69 and I-2 interchange, $200 million. As you can see, we are well over half a billion dollars on just these larger projects. It is a really remarkable time for us on the windfall of funds that are coming down to the area.”
Canon said he recommended watching the TTC meeting.
“I would suggest watching it because of the windfall. This is a lot of money. But, next year, I am pretty confident, after everything we have done, or the elected officials have done down here, with the merging of the MPOs, I think the windfall is going to be even greater for the area. It is nothing but good news right now.”
According to the TXDOT website, the Texas Transportation Commission and TxDOT use the Unified Transportation Program as TxDOT’s 10-year plan to guide transportation project development.
“The UTP is developed annually in accordance with the Texas Administrative Code (TAC §16.105) and is approved by the Texas Transportation Commission annually prior to August 31,” the website states.
"The UTP authorizes projects for construction, development and planning activities and includes projects involving highways, aviation, public transportation, and state and coastal waterways.”
TXDOT said UTP is part of a “comprehensive planning and programming process” flowing from TxDOT’s agency mission to project-level implementation.
"That is, the UTP is an intermediate programming document linking the planning activities of the Statewide Long-Range Transportation Plan (SLRTP), the Metropolitan Transportation Plans, and Rural Transportation Plan to the detailed programming activities under the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and TxDOT’s 24-month (2-year) Letting Schedule,” the TxDOT website states.
“Specifically, the UTP is a listing of projects and programs that are planned to be constructed and/or developed within the first ten years of the 24-year SLRTP. Project development includes activities such as preliminary engineering work, environmental analysis, right-of-way acquisition and design,” the website states.
“Despite its importance to TxDOT as a planning and programming tool, the UTP is neither a budget nor a guarantee that projects will or can be built. However, it is a critical tool in guiding transportation project development within the long-term planning context. In addition, it serves as a communication tool for stakeholders and the public in understanding the project development commitments TxDOT is making.”
J. Bruce Bugg, Jr., chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission, said:
“The Unified Transportation Program (UTP) represents our commitment to improving the quality of life for all Texans. The 2020 UTP identifies planned investments totaling $77 billion in infrastructure improvements over the next 10 years that address TxDOT’s strategic goals in the areas of safety, preservation, congestion relief, and connectivity. Consistent with direction from Governor Greg Abbott and our commitment to the Texas Clear Lanes program, we are allocating some $28 billion of this $77 billion to address our most critical congestion improvement needs in the state’s five major metropolitan areas and other congested areas around Texas. Together, we are solving Texas’ most pressing transportation needs.”
State Sen. Eddie Lucio spoke at Wednesday’s LRGVDC board meeting. After the meeting, the Rio Grande Guardian invited Lucio to preview Thursday’s TTC meeting.
“I do not know exactly how much money we will get but we are making some great strides in many different categories. Infrastructure in the Valley is growing. We have been able to address the needs of probably one of the fastest growing regions in the country. We are getting the attention we deserve,” Lucio said.
“If we are to grow in the right direction, we will continue to need the funding necessary for the highways and byways and loops and overpasses that are needed. We want industry to come our way, businesses prosper and jobs are created for the people in the Valley.”
Lucio pointed out he was an early supporter of the plan to merge the Valley’s three MPOs.
“I supported it from the beginning. It was a dream come true for me and many others who felt that collectively we could do a lot more together than individually. I am confident the leadership of the Valley will lead us in the right direction,” Lucio said.
