[M.D. Holloway]

I'm on our towns Zoning commission. TxDOT made a pitch to the commissions explaining the I35 expansion and how it was going to effect our town. They had a Q&A. At first the questions from various board members was rather benign.

I sat there and thought that if I was going to spend any more time here and not with my family I better make it worth while. I decided to mix it up some.

Me: Sir, thank you for presenting tonight. My first question... why are you looking to expand?

Him (and his staff): to relieve the congestion of course.

Me: OK, how do you know. You are looking to spend almost $700 million to go from 3 lanes to 6 so what do you actually think will occur? What will be the expected reduction in transit time?

Someone on his staff: Currently the congestion is rated a C we expected it to become a B.

Me: So in other words my commute to Dallas or to Denton should be reduced by 10 to 20 minutes because of less congestion. Sorry sir but I am not so certain that will relieve congestion. I guess we will see.

A few other questions were asked then...

Me: Sir, you stated that 65 homes and 75 businesses will be displaced. Have these folks been notified concerning this?

Him: We will have this available on the internet.

Me: Sir, with all due respect, I am not confident that folks regularly check your site for information or updates. What provisions have been put in place or will be?

Him (and staff): We will send out letters.

a few more questions were asked...

Me: Sir, in your presentation you state that the project is expected to be complete in 2012. Does the $685 million take into account increased material and labor costs?

Staff member: There is a 5% allowance built it.

Me: That seems a little low considering the rising costs of concrete and labor.


I don't know if this expansion is a good thing or a bad thing. I am sure it will happen regardless of what a knucklehead like me has to say.

The thing that got me a bit steamed was the fact that these guys are spending money - our money and the overall ramifications of this project are not understood.

What about the environmenal impact? More lanes means more traffic. Dallas has poor air quality to begin with. And what about the increased development of apartments, house and so forth - all to accomidate all the folks who will move in because the business can grow more because of the increased throughfare.

Maybe I am being short-sighted but for $700 million, could outlying areas be developed to be more self-sustaining than to engage in urban sprawl?

So, does expending a highway really make sense?