Overview
Background
In January 2007, the Texas Transportation Commission approved Minute Order 110815 which authorized feasibility and route location studies to evaluate the potential strategic, economic, emergency and environmental benefits of transportation improvements along the US 190/IH 10 corridor.
Scope
The purpose of the study is to assess the feasibility, benefits and impacts of implementing highway improvements along the designated corridor as well as the adequacy of the rail system corridor from El Paso to Louisiana, generally following existing IH 10 from the New Mexico state line to US 190, then along US 190 to the Louisiana state line.
Consideration will be given to this corridor's connectivity between the military installations at Fort Hood and Fort Bliss and the deployment Ports of Beaumont and Corpus Christi, as well as its potential for providing congestion relief and economic development.
TxDOT staff will use the study to identify any existing and future transportation needs along the US 190/IH 10 corridor. It will be used to determine what improvements, if any, are needed through the year 2040, depending on available funding.
Transportation needs
- Evaluate existing and future mobility demands and needs (auto, trucks, and rail) along the corridor.
- Evaluate the impact of future enlargements at Fort Bliss and Fort Hood as well as any other military deployment issues associated with connecting the military bases and ports.
- Evaluate what, if any, advantage there is to connecting military bases and ports to each other.
- Evaluate the impacts along this corridor resulting from the proposed Gulf Coast Strategic Highway from Texas through Louisiana and the 14th Amendment Highway from Mississippi to Georgia.
- Assess the need to straighten existing curves where necessary for safety and/or mobility needs.
Facility type
Improvements determined to be needed and feasible may vary for different sections of the study corridor.
- Initially, assess the need for and feasibility of a new interstate-type highway along the study corridor from El Paso to Louisiana. Analyze if improvements to the proposed US 69 highway would be necessary to provide access to major Texas Gulf ports.
- Evaluate the adequacy of the existing rail system within the corridor for existing and projected freight and military movements.
- If an interstate highway is not feasible, then assess the feasibility of widening/upgrading US 190 to a four-lane highway with a median.
Facility location
- Consider and give highest priority to improvements along the existing alignments and rights-of-way of IH 10 and US 190.
- Only examine alternate or new location alignments in areas with major constraints and where local agencies or representatives identify a potential need.