I-69 hearings set to begin

WESLACO — Rio Grande Valley residents can start airing their support and grievances over a proposed interstate highway designation in the region.

The Texas Department of Transportation is set to hold its first of four public meetings in Weslaco on Thursday to answer the public’s questions and receive official comments on the 1,072-page environmental report on the Trans-Texas Corridor plan for an Interstate 69 extension linking South Texas to points north.

TxDOT is developing plans for the first interstate in eastern Texas to connect Texarkana to one of three points in the south: U.S. Highway 281 in Hidalgo County, U.S. Highway 77 in Cameron County or U.S. Highway 59 in Webb County. Only Webb County is currently served by an interstate.

State officials say if they expand any of those highways, the new lanes could be turned into tollways to finance the project. They stress that whatever lanes are currently free to use will remain that way. A final decision on financing the project has not been made.

The town hall meeting scheduled for Thursday will just be a question-and-answer session. None of the public’s comments will officially be on the record.

TxDOT has scheduled three consecutive public hearings beginning Feb. 4. There will be a 90-minute open house prior to the start of the official hearings in which transportation officials can answer questions. But after the hearings begin, they can no longer respond to questions and can only record the public’s questions and comments, agency spokesman Chris Lippincott said.

Officials say the 650-mile project will reduce congestion and expand economic opportunity. They also say it will satisfy a federal demand to develop an international route that stretches from Mexico to Canada.

TxDOT is expected to make its final recommendation on the I-69 route this summer.

Residents can review the environmental report online at:

http://ttc.keeptexasmoving.com/projects/i69/deis.aspx

Comments on the proposed I-69 designation can be submitted online at:

http://ttc.keeptexasmoving.com/about/

If you go:

Town hall meeting:

Jan. 31 - Weslaco, South Texas College Lecture Hall, 400 N. Border. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m.; meeting begins at 6 p.m. Transportation officials can answer questions; public comments are not officially recorded

Public hearings:

Open house from 5 to 6:30 p.m.: Transportation officials can answer questions, but public comments are not officially recorded; a public hearing begins at 6:30 p.m.: Transportation officials can’t answer questions, but public comments will be officially recorded.

Feb. 4 - Brownsville, City of Brownsville Event Center, Rooms C, D & E, 1 Event Center Blvd., off Paredes Line Road.

Feb. 5 - Harlingen, Casa Del Sol, 221 E. Madison.

Feb. 6 - McAllen, McAllen Convention Center, Room 101, 700 Convention Center Blvd.