County hopeful of I-69 will become reality

When the Texas Department of Transportation begins work on the I-69/Trans Texas Corridor, the U.S. 77 leg from Victoria to Brownsville will be developed first.

Cameron County Commissioners revealed the information during Tuesday’s Cameron County Commissioners Court meeting. County officials received the news from the state’s Turnpike Authority Division on Monday.

In a letter to Cameron County, Turnpike Authority Division Director Phillip E. Russell said, TXDOT has identified U.S. 77 as “high priority” and the “first near term facility to be developed under the I-69/TTC Comprehensive Development Agreement.”

The U.S. 77 Highway runs from Victoria to Brownsville.

Precinct 3 Commissioner David Garza said the project is something that the current and prior county administration had been working on for quite awhile.

“This is a great Christmas gift for Cameron County,” he said.

Interstate-69 or I-69 is a national highway that will link the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The proposed I-69/TTC will extend from the Texarkana/Shreveport area to Mexico through either the Rio Grande Valley or Laredo, according to the TX DOT website.

The concept of building such a super corridor was created by Congress in 1991. It was incorporated into the Trans Texas Corridor System in 2002.

Precinct 2 Commissioner John Wood also stated the I-69 project was something that multiple individuals had been working on including Tobin Armstrong, of Armstrong Ranch, which is located in Kenedy County.

“A lot of them (individuals) have passed away... they knew we needed an interstate in the area,” Wood said.

Nueces County officials as well as Corpus Christi officials have committed to the project providing letters of commitment to TX DOT, Garza said.

The next step is for the two developers chosen to work the project to submit a final proposal to TX DOT by March outlining the entire length of the corridor, County Administrator Pete Sepulveda said after the meeting. Part of the proposal will include the Cameron County leg.

“This show of unity…this is tremendous for Cameron County and all the other counties involved,” Precinct 4 Commissioner Edna Tamayo said.