Highway will be a “river of trade”
HOUSTON – Interstate 69 is a nationwide project to create an economic corridor for North America; it spans the entire country to connect Canada to Mexico with one continuous freeway. This is the message on the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s new MobilityNOW episode, viewable on Youtube.com.
In Texas I-69 begins at Texarkana, travels to Houston on U.S. 59 and ends at the Mexico border. Improvements utilize existing highways whenever possible based on recommendations.
“It’s been a tremendous project, it has been 20 years in the making and in the last couple of years, Texas in particular it really has come to life,” said Phil Wilson, TxDOT former Executive Director ”I-69 is really a river of trade for economic development purposes.” Wilson appears on the video, along with Marc Williams, TxDOT Director of Planning.
“I-69 in Texas will follow US 59 for most of its length to Laredo; passing through the Aldine area; it will split south of Victoria to continue on Highway 77 to Brownsville; a third split from US 59 will send it down to highway 281 at McAllen.
Instead of constructing a new freeway for I-69, the existing highways will be improved to interstate levels. Those improvements may include additional traffic lanes, repair and reconstruction of existing pavements as well as improvements in safety without the cost and time of constructing a new freeway.
With four ports, the Houston region is a major freight gateway. Future port connectors to Highway 69 and other freeways will provide a more efficient/direct access to the port and manufacturing centers of the region.
Interstate 69 is a promising transportation project with a big impact on our region.