Alternative Funding Considered for Ports-to-Plains Project

TxDOT will study private investments and partnerships in an effort to expedite the completion of the proposed Ports-to-Plains Corridor.
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TxDOT Considers Alternative Funding For Ports-to-Plains Corridor

With funding scarce for the long-sought Ports-to-Plains corridor, state transportation officials are looking at opportunities for private investment and partnerships to pay for moving freight and utilities along the trade corridor.

TxDOT will consider Ports-to-Plains funding alternatives in a study that should be completed early next year.

The research will look at how local governments and regional entities can partner with the private sector to finance needed infrastructure. The potential for utility transmission along the corridor will be assessed, as well as the role of rail and the trade relationship among the nation's plains states.

Ports-to-Plains is a proposed divided highway corridor stretching from Laredo through West Texas to Denver, Colo. Designated as a High Priority Corridor by Congress in 1998, the Ports-to-Plains corridor is intended to expand economic opportunity and serve international trade from Mexico to Canada.

Despite the congressional designation, adequate federal funding has not been provided to cover the cost of the project.

Using Ports-to-Plains as a case study, TxDOT will research the best potential applications of the Trans-Texas Corridor concept for routes that may not attract tolling as a primary revenue source.

"The utilities industries have found a home in West Texas, and we want to study what potential opportunities are available for attracting private sector investment for utility transmission to other parts of the state," said Mike Behrens, executive director of TxDOT. He added that such an investment could help pay for road improvements "needed to make Ports-to-Plains a reality."

Mock Pipeline Provides Emergency Response Training

The Texas Engineering Extension Service, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Association of State Fire Marshals, will be offering a new Pipeline Emergencies course beginning summer 2007.

TEEX, a member of The Texas A&M University System, has completed a 2,300-ft. below-ground pipeline with multiple above-ground connections to train emergency responders, local officials, command staff and others to manage and mitigate pipeline emergencies.

The project, which can leak both liquid and gas, is located at TEEX's Brayton Fire Training Field in College Station and was constructed with input from leading pipeline industry representatives.

The 40-hour program will be taught using three modules and will address pipeline awareness, operations and emergency response for both gas and liquid pipelines and transmission and distribution systems.

The first module will concentrate on pipeline awareness, in which regulatory factors, causes of pipeline incidents and prevention of pipeline emergencies will be covered through team-based exercises.

Students will learn about gas and liquid pipeline operations during the second module, which includes transmission and distribution systems and below- and above-ground equipment. Pipeline safety programs, inspection, aging systems, equipment identification, and pipeline markings will be covered.

The third class module will teach and exercise pipeline emergency response replicating a real-world scenario. The Incident Command System will be utilized under the guidelines of the National Incident Management System.

"The flexibility of the training props to leak liquid and gas is important when you consider the products you could encounter in any potential emergency," said TEEX program supervisor Gordon Lohmeyer. "The course is a much-needed emergency response training tool, especially when considering the aging pipeline infrastructure that crosses the United States and countries worldwide."

For more information about the course, log on to teex.com or call 979-458-4719.

Perry Dedicates Expansion of Buffalo Gap Wind Farm

Gov. Rick Perry recently dedicated a major expansion of the Buffalo Gap wind farm in the city of Merkel, just west of Abilene in Taylor County.

"Today we welcome a tremendous investment in a stronger economy, a healthier environment and a future that is brighter because it's powered by clean and renewable West Texas wind energy," Perry said during the dedication.

AES Corp. recently completed the first phase of the wind farm called Buffalo Gap I. The second phase, called Buffalo Gap II, is expected to achieve commercial operation by summer 2007. The combined output of both phases will be 352.5 MW.

The Buffalo Gap Wind Project dedication came after an announcement of $10 billion in private capital investment in Texas wind energy made by Perry.

"With this $10 billion announcement, the economic ripple will be more like a tidal wave as these companies pour millions of dollars into wages and salaries for Texas workers," Perry said.