Tribpedia: Texas Department Of Transportation

Tribpedia

The Texas Department of Transportation, known as TxDOT, oversees roads, railways and other transportation systems across Texas. It also plays a significant role in dealing with weather-related emergencies. In addition to building and maintaining state highways and public transportation systems, the department issues permits for heavy trucks and registers motor vehicles. 

According to its website, TxDOT employs 13,000 people ...

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Phil Wilson, the executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation
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Phil Wilson, the executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation

Phil Wilson: The TT Interview

Ten months into his tenure, the executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation on funding the state's transportation needs, the prospects for high-speed rail and what the expansion of the Panama Canal means for Texas ports.

Traffic along US 77 between Driscoll and Kingsville, Texas. A 10-mile stretch of this road from Kingsville to Driscoll is right now a simple state highway with cross-traffic and stop lights. About $50 million is going to be used to upgrade it to interstate highway standards. 6/4/12
Enlarge photo by: Eddie Seal
Traffic along US 77 between Driscoll and Kingsville, Texas. A 10-mile stretch of this road from Kingsville to Driscoll is right now a simple state highway with cross-traffic and stop lights. About $50 million is going to be used to upgrade it to interstate highway standards. 6/4/12

TxDOT Releases First Rural Transportation Plan

  • by Emily Foxhall

TxDOT released the state’s first transportation plan for rural areas last week, intending it as a “blueprint” for future transportation projects and services in rural areas through 2035. 

Traffic along US 77 between Driscoll and Kingsville, Texas. A 10-mile stretch of this road from Kingsville to Driscoll is right now a simple state highway with cross-traffic and stop lights. About $50 million is going to be used to upgrade it to interstate highway standards. 6/4/12
Enlarge photo by: Eddie Seal
Traffic along US 77 between Driscoll and Kingsville, Texas. A 10-mile stretch of this road from Kingsville to Driscoll is right now a simple state highway with cross-traffic and stop lights. About $50 million is going to be used to upgrade it to interstate highway standards. 6/4/12

For TxDOT, a $2 Billion "Perception Problem"

The Texas Department of Transportation announced this year that it had an extra $2 billion in funding. And that could hurt the agency's attempts at getting extra funding next session.

Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade announcing the launch of the 2010 census in Texas
Enlarge credit: Jacob Villanueva
Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade announcing the launch of the 2010 census in Texas

This Will Be on the Test

  • by Beth Brown
Texas Weekly

This week, Secretary of State Hope Andrade conducted a lottery that determined the order of the 10 new proposals on the November ballot. Each amendment already won approval from two-thirds of the House and Senate and now needs a nod from a majority of the voters. Here's the rundown... 

State Rep. Linda Harper-Brown (l), R-Irving, discusses TXDOT sunset legislation with State Rep. Yvonne Davis, D-Dallas, at the Texas House on April 29, 2011.
Enlarge photo by: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
State Rep. Linda Harper-Brown (l), R-Irving, discusses TXDOT sunset legislation with State Rep. Yvonne Davis, D-Dallas, at the Texas House on April 29, 2011.

House Gives Early OK to TxDOT Sunset Bill

Consider it a do-over. The House today tentatively approved the Texas Department of Transportation Sunset bill, the measure that last year sent lawmakers into a surprise special session.

Traffic congestion on Interstate 35 in Austin. The freeway through central Austin is among the state's most congested road segments, according to a TxDOT study.
Enlarge photo illustration by: Charles Stricklin/Todd Wiseman
Traffic congestion on Interstate 35 in Austin. The freeway through central Austin is among the state's most congested road segments, according to a TxDOT study.

Senate Votes for "Transparent" TxDOT

  • by Christopher Smith Gonzalez
  • 1 Comment

The Texas Department of Transportation Sunset bill that got caught up in the backlog of legislation last session passed the Senate today.

Bill Neiman, owner of Native American Seed, at his seed-cleaning facility in Junction, TX, Jan. 18, 2011.
Enlarge photo by: Callie Richmond
Bill Neiman, owner of Native American Seed, at his seed-cleaning facility in Junction, TX, Jan. 18, 2011.

Native Grasses Take Root (Again) in Texas

From the highways of Texas to the San Jacinto Battleground, state agencies now aim to maximize the use of native grasses rather than opting for whatever was cheapest or fastest-growing, as they did decades ago.

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State Looks for Ways to Pay for Roads

The sixth annual Texas Transportation Forum was the largest yet, with contractors, state officials and others meeting to talk mobility in the state. Mose Buchele of KUT News reports on the added challenges they will face this year to keep Texas moving.

Enlarge photo by: Flickr user, colorblindPICASO

Texas Mulls Alternatives to the Gas Tax

Over the next several months, hundreds of electric and plug-in hybrid cars will arrive in Texas cities. They will emit little pollution and be cheaper to operate than conventional vehicles. For the state government, however, the advent of alternative-fuel vehicles creates a long-term concern: They will generate little or no gas tax revenue — a key funding source for keeping the state's roads and bridges in good repair.

Trooper Johnny Hernandez patrols Hidalgo County in the Rio Grande Valley.
Enlarge photo by: Callie Richmond
Trooper Johnny Hernandez patrols Hidalgo County in the Rio Grande Valley.

Study Says Aggressive Driving, Texting on the Rise

  • by Emily Brown

More than a third of Texas drivers think roadways are less safe than they were five years ago even though data shows that deaths have steadily decreased, according to a survey by the Center for Transportation Safety at the Texas Transportation Institute.

Enlarge graphic by: Todd Wiseman

Insiders on How the Budget Will Be Balanced

For this week's installment of our non-scientific survey of political and policy insiders on issues of the moment, we focused on the budget. Specifically, we asked how big the shortfall is going to be, how the Legislature will close the gap and which areas of the budget are most likely to be cut.

Traffic congestion on Interstate 35 in Austin. The freeway through central Austin is among the state's most congested road segments, according to a TxDOT study.
Enlarge photo illustration by: Charles Stricklin/Todd Wiseman
Traffic congestion on Interstate 35 in Austin. The freeway through central Austin is among the state's most congested road segments, according to a TxDOT study.

Transportation Groups: Bad Roads Cost Taxpayers

  • by Mose Buchele
Think repairing the state’s roads and highways is costly? Try not repairing them. That's the message from transportation advocacy groups, which say poor road conditions are costing Texas drivers $22.6 billion per year in car damage, fuel costs and traffic accidents. But as Mose Buchele of KUT News reports, before any of those problems can be addressed, we should all prepare for a bumpy ride.
Enlarge graphic by: Todd Wiseman

TribWeek: Top Texas News for the Week of 10/18/10

M. Smith on the frailties of electronic voting machines, Hu on the big bump in early voter turnout, Chang talks to the national coordinator of Health Information Technology, Hamilton on why the nondiscrimination policies of state university systems don't include sexual orientation, Aguilar on the prospect of high school football referees on strike, Stiles updates our government employee salary app to include 20 more public agencies, Philpott on where the candidates in HD-52 stand on fast growth, Galbraith on damage to Texas roads caused by heavy truck traffic, Grissom interviews the first Hispanic sheriff of Harris County and my one-hour sit-downs with Rick Perry and Bill White: The best of our best from October 18 to 22, 2010.