Governor Greg Abbott announced on Tuesday the government’s adoption of the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) 10-year statewide roadway construction plan.
“The State of Texas is working to ensure the transportation needs of our fast-growing state are met and that the safety of Texans on the roadways is protected,” Abbott stated.
TxDOT’s 2023 Unified Transportation Program (UTP) will allocate a record-breaking $85 billion to transportation-related construction projects “dedicated to improving transportation safety, addressing congestion and rural connectivity, and preserving roadways for Texas drivers,” according to a press release issued by the governor’s office.
The UTP is updated every year. TxDOT makes necessary adjustments based on changing available state taxpayer dollars estimates and coordinating between various governmental state and local bodies.
This year’s plan happens to overlap with $32 billion in approved state taxpayer money for routine maintenance and some project development, bringing the total expected to be spent over the next 10 years to $117 billion, according to CBS News.
UTP 2023 projects more than 7,000 transportation projects in the coming decade, some of which are road segments that made it onto the “Texas’ 100 Most Congested Road Sections” in 2021, compiled by the mobility division of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI).
TxDOT Commission Chairman J. Bruce Bugg, Jr. emphasized this aspect of the plan in a statement:
“The UTP reflects a continued focus on improving transportation safety as the top priority, maintaining our current system, addressing traffic congestion, and improving statewide connectivity over the next decade. Additionally, we are making significant progress in addressing congestion in our busiest parts of the state through our Texas Clear Lanes initiative, which improves top chokepoints in our largest metro areas.”
As more and more motorists move to the Lone Star State, roadway infrastructure struggles to keep up.
The number of registered vehicles in Texas has risen by 172% in the past four decades, while highway capacity has only increased 19% in the same time, according to TTI.