LaSalle County, which is in the heart of the Eagle Ford Shale, has sued the Texas Department of Transportation over a $225 million grant program aimed at repairing roads damaged by oilfield traffic.
Transportation
Reporting on roads, transit, infrastructure, and policy shaping travel and mobility across the state, from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Energy
Despite Help From State, Counties Still Struggling to Fix Roads
In 2013, state lawmakers approved millions of dollars in funding to help repair roads damaged by trucks transporting fracking materials. A year later, many of the affected counties say that money will cover only a fraction of what they need.
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Transportation
Study: Most Texans Drive and Talk; Many Text
A new study from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute found that three out of four Texans at least occasionally speak on a cellphone while driving and nearly half sometimes read or text while driving.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Despite Changes, Driver Surcharge Program Faces Continued Opposition
UPDATED: Lawmakers are unlikely to abolish the Driver Responsibility Program next year, but at a hearing Monday, they encouraged critics of it to submit recommendations for reform.
Posted in
Energy
Railroads Filling Void as Oil Pipeline Falls Short
As drillers produce millions of barrels of crude oil in shale plays in Texas and the Midwest, railroad companies are finding booming business in transporting the oil to Gulf Coast refineries.
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Transportation
TxDOT Suspends TxTag Payment Page Due to Security Concern
A blogger noticed that a page on the Texas Department of Transportation’s TxTag site left customers’ credit card information exposed. TxDOT says it has no evidence of any security breaches.
Posted in
Economy
Tax Relief or Targeted Spending Hikes? Surplus Projections Fuel Debate
With expectations that state lawmakers will have a budget surplus of several billion dollars, lawmakers, activists and business groups are already discussing what to do with the money.
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Transportation
Afraid It Was Missing the Boat, Arlington Tries the Bus With Pilot Program
Arlington, which had been one of the largest U.S. cities without public transportation, launched its first commuter bus line on a trial basis last year. Supporters are optimistic that the service will prove popular enough to continue beyond 2015.
Posted in
Transportation
Transportation Commission Picks Weber to Run TxDOT
The Texas Transportation Commission voted 4-0 Friday to hire a former military leader and longtime friend of Gov. Rick Perry as the new executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation.
Posted in
Economy
Federal Radioactive Waste Arrives in West Texas
UPDATED: A radioactive waste site in West Texas has received its first truckload of transuranic waste from the federal government’s nuclear weapons program, following wildfires and a radiation leak in New Mexico.