Infrastructure bill paves way for 1-14 across Central Texas

An amendment to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) introduced by Senators Ted Cruz, R-Tx. and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga. has paved the way for the construction of Interstate 14 from Texas to Georgia. The IIJA legislation signed by President Joe Biden Nov. 15, 2021, provides no project funding but gives the green light to state departments of transportation to commence route studies. Approximately 115 miles in the Central Texas corridor will run through the Brazos Valley but given the magnitude of the project, determining the possible route will take years.

I-14 history

Development of the Interstate 14 corridor has been the goal of the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway Coalition (GCSHC) for nearly 20 years, initially, to link military bases from Fort Bliss to Camp Mabry. A more complex vision in 2004 included commercial freight needs in response to a transportation system which may have outgrown its design capacity.

That vision also included an east-west Trans-Texas Corridor parallel to U.S. 190-Texas 30 from Killeen to Jasper as well as a 612-mile Texas T-Bone and Brazos Express Corridor built as high speed rail. Many locals may recall that the Trans-Texas Corridor initiative through Grimes County met with citizen resistance and the current efforts to build high speed rail are by a private entity.

In 2015 the I-14 Central Texas Corridor was authorized by the FAST Act (Fixing America’s Surface Transportation) signed by President Barak Obama. It allowed naming a roadway I-14 if built to interstate standards. The first section completed was 25 miles of freeway from Killeen/Fort Hood to I-35.

The 2021 law expands the I-14 designation to include San Angelo and Midland-Odessa and today’s GCSHC vision includes four proposed spur routes with an “I-214 Loop” at Bryan-College Station.

Route undefined

TxDOT’s Bryan District Engineer, Chad Bohne, clarified that before the 2021 legislation granting the ability to move forward with route studies, TxDOT was not pursuing development. Now, a consultant firm has been hired and a route study is in its infancy.

Bohne said, “The location here in our area is just a part of the larger designated corridor that runs out of the Midland-Odessa area all the way to the East Coast and Georgia. The portion in Texas is able to be studied and developed as a future interstate corridor designated Interstate 14.”

According to Bohne, there is no map or route to reference.

He said, “It’s only in loose terms. It generally follows US 190. The only caveat to that which then becomes more of interest to Grimes County is that there actually was an ‘or” in the legislation that says from Huntsville to Bryan-College Station, it was US 190 but had an ‘or Texas 30’ as an alternate consideration for the designation of a corridor.”

He continued, “We’re going to have public involvement with all the communities throughout our district trying to determine what the desires are, what things we’ve got to be careful with as where a route could go. Again, this is not a designated route. There is not something right now that defines how that would look.”

Bohne said, “I would say the northern half of Grimes County would be part of the discussion of what is the outlook for the future, if this route has any merits, or since it follows 190 more closely, be just in Madison County and not even impact Grimes.”

The study will have to factor in future infrastructure and roadway expansion and coordinate with other transportation modes like high speed rail.

What could I-14 look like?

Texas 30 is a two-lane highway with a 100-foot right of way and typically, a rural section of an interstate will have two lanes in each direction. Service or frontage road support depends on need for access as is more common in urban areas with driveways.

Bohne said, “There is not a set number of lanes that an interstate has to be. It’s more of the access control, and you don’t have those at-grade intersections with all the crossing roadways. It’s a safety aspect for continuity of travel.”

Tolled or untolled depends on how the project proceeds.

Bohne said, “In some sections of interstate in Texas and in the country, there are tolls but on a roadway of this nature, I would not foresee anything would compromise the free route. When you follow the existing corridor, you’re not going to be able to compromise the free route. Section by section, in some areas, it could be a part of the funding component but that is really, really down the road!”

Federal designation doesn’t bump a project to the front of the line. While there could be federal funding streams down the road, this legislation provides none.

Explaining TxDOT’s allocated funds for different categories such as maintenance, bridges, rural connectivity, safety, Bohne said, “We have our needs in our district and we’re going to serve the needs in our district.”

He added, “By the time you get to construction, if and when that happens, it would be through additional funding for such an undertaking.”

Public involvement

Seven of the 10 Bryan District counties are affected and others will be in the discussion. Bohne expects to communicate with elected officials and interested parties when stakeholder meeting movement begins later this year and they’ll be “ongoing for many years.” Bohne recognizes some areas will be receptive while others will not.

He said, “The designation is that you CAN but that doesn’t mean there is a finality already in mind. There are tens of hundreds of miles of our area that have to be looked at. A new interstate corridor is an even greater major undertaking than extending a state highway.”

Emphasizing that a project like this will take years, not months, Bohne said, “Everyone likes to know as soon as possible when things like this are being discussed, what’s going to play out, and at this point we need to just go through the study process and see where that leads us. But we’re not operating under any sort of demands for a particular timeline. The amount it takes, is the length of time it takes to do it and do it as carefully as you can to make sure you don’t miss anything.”