State Issues Call for Transportation Projects

The call for transportation enhancement projects that can be funded by SAFETEA-LU ends April 28.

TxDOT Call for Ehnacement Projects

TxDOT is accepting proposals for transportation enhancement projects that can be funded through the new federal transportation bill.

The federal program provides funding for transportation related activities that promote the quality of the environment through aesthetic enhancements associated with transportation.

The funding is provided in the new federal transportation bill, SAFETEA-LU. The project call ends April 28. Projects will be selected on a competitive basis.

Approved projects will receive funding on a cost-reimbursement basis. The funding does not constitute a grant. Enhancement projects are eligible for reimbursement for up to 80 percent of allowable costs. The entity nominating a project is responsible for the remaining cost share, including all cost overruns.

Eligible projects must demonstrate a relationship to the surface transportation system through either function or impact. They must go beyond standard transportation activities, incorporating one of the following 12 categories: pedestrians and bicycles facilities; safety and education activities for pedestrians and bicyclists; acquisition of scenic easements and scenic and historic properties; scenic or historic highway programs (including providing tourist and welcome center facilities); landscaping and other scenic beautification; historic preservation; rehabilitation and operation of historic transportation buildings, structures, or facilities (including historic railroad facilities and canals); preservation of abandoned railway corridors (including conversion and use for pedestrian and bicycle facilities); control and removal of outdoor advertising; archaeological planning and research; environmental mitigation to address water pollution due to highway runoff or reduce vehicle-caused wildlife mortality while maintaining habitat connectivity; establishment of transportation museums.

UT Engineer to Chair External Review Panel

The American Society of Civil Engineers recently announced the team members of an external review panel commissioned as part of the federal effort to provide credible answers to the fundamental questions concerning the performance of the hurricane protection system in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Along with the ASCE external review panel, the federal response includes an Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force, organized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a National Research Council independent review panel, convened at the direction of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld authorized ASCE to convene an external review panel to conduct continuing expert peer review of the work performed by the IPET, and report findings directly to the NRC.

University of Texas at Dallas' president, David Daniel, a renowned civil engineer and member of the National Academy of Engineering, will chair the external review panel.

The ASCE external review panel will provide an objective technical review of the IPET report findings. The scope of work will include: data collection about the condition of the hurricane protection systems before and after Hurricane Katrina; review of project construction and maintenance; numerical modeling to characterize the storm surge; analysis of floodwalls, pumping stations and levee performance; analysis of the impacts of economic decisions associated with hurricane protection systems; and examination of the engineering and operational risk and reliability of the system.

The study is expected to take eight months. All findings will be available to the public.

Perry Has Plan to Accelerate IH-69

Gov. Rick Perry recently announced a plan to partner with the private sector to develop an interstate-quality highway corridor with additional rail freight capacity that connects the Lower Rio Grande River Valley to IH-37 and continues along the south and east portions of Texas from Corpus Christi through Houston all the way to northeast Texas. The visionary transportation project, TTC-69, will connect industrial hubs in South Texas and the Midwest.

"When construction is complete, Texas will benefit from unprecedented trade opportunities, a faster, more reliable transportation system, and thousands of new jobs," Perry said.

Perry made the announcement at the annual meeting of the IH-69 Alliance, a non-profit group of public and private sector leaders from East and South Texas. The alliance was formed 12 years ago to advance the goal of developing the IH-69 corridor. IH-69 is the combination of two federally designated High Priority Corridors, which together form the shortest route between the industrial northeast and the South Texas border with Mexico.