TxDOT opens door to extended moratorium on gravel roads; seeks more funds
AUSTIN — Reacting to concerns from Sen. Carlos Uresti and other lawmakers, the Texas Department of Transportation said Wednesday it might extend its moratorium on gravel road conversions in energy-producing regions, and that it will try to provide an additional $250 million for road maintenance and repair.
Uresti, who helped negotiate the initial moratorium agreement with TxDOT in August, applauded the agency for listening to lawmakers and taking positive steps that could limit the need for tearing up paved roads and converting them to gravel in the Eagle Ford Shale and Permian Basin regions.
Uresti noted that the 60-day moratorium brokered with TxDOT is almost over, and he urged communities to come to the table with solutions.
“We will continue to work with counties to explore solutions,” he said. “More must be done to propose and evaluate alternatives before the moratorium ends later this month.”
In the meantime, TxDOT indicated that it would consider extending the moratorium on gravel conversions if more counties stepped forward with alternative solutions. The agency also said, under questioning from Uresti, that no other roads are being considered for conversion to gravel at this time.
“I’m happy to hear there is no secret list being kept from my constituents,” he said. “At least now we know these 83 miles are the only ones we need to find creative solutions for in the near term.”
At the urging of Sen. Tommy Williams, the committee chairman, TxDOT agreed that it would hold public hearings before proposing any more conversions.
During the last session of the Legislature, TxDOT received an additional $450 million for transportation infrastructure —including $225 million for county roads secured by Uresti to fund Senate Bill 1747, providing for the maintenance of county roads.
The agency told lawmakers on Wednesday that it is working on a funding rider for another $250 million for road projects in the Eagle Ford Shale and other energy exploration and production regions.
“I appreciate TxDOT’s willingness to seek alternatives to future gravel road conversions,” Uresti said. “Now we must work together with local communities to see if we can reverse the fate of those paved roads that are already on the drawing board for conversion. We must continue to protect the golden goose.”
Uresti noted that Texas voters will have an opportunity next year to approve a constitutional amendment that would redirect more than $1 billion from the rainy day fund for transportation infrastructure, and that the fund could be a reliable source of revenue for roads well into in the future.
According to the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, the fund will produce record-setting balances even with voter approval of the constitutional amendment on roads and Proposition 6 on water in next month’s election — rising to $6.7 billion in 2014, $8.2 billion in 2015, and $9.9 billion in 2016.
Sen. Uresti represents Senate District 19, which covers more than 35,000 square miles and contains all or part of 17 counties, two international ports of entry, ten state parks, 61 school districts, almost 9,000 miles of highways and county roads, and more than 34,000 producing oil and gas wells. The district is larger than 11 states and 124 Nations, and contains almost 400 miles of the Texas-Mexico border.
