September 2024 Vol 22 Issue 9

September 2024 Volume 22 Issue 9

We are a voice for our small town, grassroots members who may otherwise not have access to the right audiences, as well as a conduit for industry to come together in support and promotion of transportation improvements.

We are committed to working as an Alliance to improve transportation infrastructure and business networks opportunities, by advocating for appropriate funding levels, so business and industry can thrive.

We are focused on the economic and business interests that are the lifeblood of the region.

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PRESIDENT'S CORNER

We just completed our annual conference in Dickinson North Dakota, and I wanted to thank everyone who made this event the success that it was. It was well attended including a visit from former president Teddy Roosevelt himself! You really missed something. I want to acknowledge Cal Klewin and the Theodore Roosevelt Expressway group and Terri Thiel, Executive Director of the Dickinson Economic Development Corporation for helping us bring this event together. Also, this conference does not happen without the hard work of our VP of Operations Joe Kiely and especially Tina Scarborough, our Ports-to-Plains Business Manager. This was her first conference to put together and she did a great job! Thank you all.

Our newsletter has a good recap of the conference so I will not use this space to talk about it but rather ask you to read further about the event and the topics that were covered. The theme this year was “Connecting North America”, and I would like to spend the rest of the time talking about that. I found a news article in the history archives dated November 27, 1942, on the completion of the Pan American Highway. This was a highway network that when completed would run for more that 15,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina. It was estimated that the total cost of the road would be almost half a billion dollars and take nineteen years to complete. By comparison, when the US Interstate Highway Program started in the 1950’s the original estimate to build 41,000 miles was $25 billion and would take twelve to fifteen years to complete. In the end when that program was closed out in 1992 it cost 113 billion and took 35 years to complete.

But back to the Pan American, in 1942 the United States was motivated with the completion of the northern Alaska highway due to perceived and real threats from Japan on the pacific theatre. And if you follow WWII history, the United States was also concerned with the vulnerabilities from the south including shipping lanes in the Gulf of Mexico. Intelligence did not have a clue where the German U-boat fleet was roaming. The solution for these vulnerabilities was the Pan American highway. The article went on to state that this highway “will ease the strain on shipping lanes, make strategic raw materials from South America more available for our war industries, and in the post-war years open up vast possibilities for tourists”.

Here we are, eighty-two years later and we have a corridor running through the midwestern United States that is uniquely positioned to provide our country with food and fuel security which will help us maintain the strategic advantage in today’s warfare on our economic stability. Also, we have a corridor that connects massive trade potential with our two largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico. And if that is not enough, we have a corridor that has incredible potential to give our tourism industry easy access to some of North America’s greatest National Parks and places of interest. It is amazing how that article has so much relevance today. That is why we are trying to build out our P2P corridor. And that is why we need your help. Please consider joining the movement today.

more to come …

Lauren D. Garduño

2024 Annual Conference Highlights

The 2024 Ports-to-Plains Alliance Conference was held September 10th-12th in beautiful Dickinson, North Dakota. Our theme this year was titled “Connecting North America” and with participants coming from eight different states and Canada, that is exactly what we did!

The opening night kicked off with some networking and a wonderful portrayal of Theodore Roosevelt by the very talented Joe Wiegand. The following morning, we got things started with a 9/11 remembrance which was followed by sessions that focused on building for connection in areas such as agriculture, tourism, energy, and funding.

Our keynote speaker, Brent Sanford, Former Lieutenant Governor of the state of North Dakota, inspired us with his address and got us ready for the afternoon sessions which included The Economy of Connections: Trade with Mexico and The Economy of Connections: Trade with Canada. These two sessions were followed by messages from several U.S. Senators sent to us via videos or letters. It was exciting to hear their words of encouragement and support.

The final day of the conference began with partnership updates given by Lauren Garduño, President/CEO of the Ports-to-Plains Alliance, Cal Klewin, Executive Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Expressway Association, and Deb Cottier, Chair of the Heartland Expressway Association. Their reports were encouraging and their continued dedication and work to the Alliance obvious. Following the partnership updates, we heard more words of encouragement and support, this time from several U.S. House of Representatives. The last session of the conference before closing remarks was a presentation on the remarkable strides being made in the area of future technology. Jeremiah Kuntz, Aurora Innovations, Inc. showed us things on the horizon (but not so distant) in the trucking industry with the use of self-driving trucks.

The conference concluded with a “field-trip” to the historic town of Medora located approximately 35 miles from Dickinson. Those who were able to stay and go with us got to visit the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library construction site and learn about it from Amy McCann, Director of Community Relations, Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. Participants were also taken to the Chateau de Mores where they learned a little more about the history of Medora.

Connecting North America, the theme of this year’s conference, definitely hit the nail on the head in more ways than one. The exchange of ideas and the forging of new friendships at the conference will help us move forward as we continue to advocate for a stronger, better infrastructure to ensure good things for the future!

Click on the Links below to see highlights!

2024 Ports-to-Plains Alliance Conference Presentations

U.S. Senate Member Videos

U.S. House Videos

2024 Ports-to-Plains Alliance Photos

Community Award to Theodore Roosevelt Expressway

Williston, ND - Williston Economic Development (WED) and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) held their annual awards banquet on Friday, September 13th at the Grand Williston Hotel and Conference Center in Williston. About 170 people attended the celebratory event. Each year, the offices of WED and SBDC select finalists for a minimum of nine different categories. Members of the Williston STAR Fund Board of Directors, Williston City Commission, and the Western Region Economic Development (WRED) Board of Directors vote on the nominees and the winners are recognized at the awards banquet.

Regional Business of the Year Theodore Roosevelt Expressway represented by Cal Klewin of Bowman, ND

CLICK HERE to view/Download Complete Press Release

I-27 Designation South of Lubbock

On September 5, 2024, TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams received a letter from Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approving the first I-27 expansion, to add a 4.2-mile segment from the existing terminus in Lubbock, Texas, to the new limits of U.S. Highway 87 (U.S. 87) access control located 0.1 mile north of County Road 7500, south of Lubbock.
FHWA Administrator Shailen P. Bhatt wrote: “I find the requirements of Section 1105(e)(5)(A) have been satisfied and hereby approve the 4.2-mile addition to the Interstate System as I-27. “

The Alliance is excited to see this first expansion of I-27 and appreciates the efforts of TxDOT and the decision by FHWA to approve this I-27 expansion.

The Texas Transportation Commission will consider a minute order designating a segment of the state highway system as I-27, concurrent with US 87 at its regular meeting of September 26, 2024.

The Alliance hopes to work with TxDOT to set a day to post the I-27 shield on this new segment of interstate highway.
As those on current I-27 know, the current mile markers start at Exit 1 in Lubbock and continue to 124 in Amarillo. With the designated future interstate now beginning at Laredo, those mile markers will be updated. Lubbock and Amarillo TxDOT Districts are working on a plan to update mile markers.

CLICK HERE to View/Download the FHWA Approval Letter to TxDOT

CLICK HERE to view/Download the Texas Minute Order

I-27 Advisory Committee Meeting Update

The I-27 Advisory Committee, created by SB 1474, met on September 19, 2024 in Del Rio, TX for its second meeting in 2024. The Honorable Brenda Gunter, Mayor, City of San Angelo, and I-27 Advisory Committee Chair opened the meeting. Topics included: I-27 Designation by Lorena Echeverria de Misi, P.E., Corridor Planning Branch Manager, Transportation Planning and Programming Division, TxDOT; Update from Ports-to-Plains Alliance by Lauren Garduño, President and CEO, Ports-to-Plains Alliance; 2025 Unified Transportation Program Update by TxDOT District Engineers; Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Update by Juan Mendive, MPO Director, Laredo and Webb County MPO, Major Hofheins, MPO Director, San Angelo MPO, and Placido Madera, MPO Director, Eagle Pass MPO; and Statewide Long-Range Transportation Plan by Giacomo Yaquinto, Statewide Planning Branch Manager, TxDOT.

I-27 Designation

Discussed in separate article titled I-27 Designation South of Lubbock.

Update from Ports-to-Plains Alliance

Lauren Garduño updated the committee on the activities throughout the North American Corridor including the status of Canada and Mexico. Many heard the same information at the 2024 Ports-to-Plains Alliance Conference in Dickinson, ND on September 12, 2024. His presentation to the conference is included as part of the article on the 2024 Conference.

2025 Unified Transportation Program Update

Each TxDOT District Engineer provided an update. Each Report outlined the current status focusing on projects along the corridor including Projects Under Construction, Funded Projects in the 2025 UTP, and Future Potential Projects Unfunded or Partially Funded.
The Committee recommended that since Planning Projects are not going to reach the UTP until the Planning is completed, it would be helpful to provide target dates to initiate Interstate Planning and City Location Studies.

As you review the District Tabloids, the Estimated Construction is an early construction estimate and is not the Planning Cost. Additionally, many of the let dates are the earliest let date for projects not included in the 2025 UTP, TxDOT’s 10-year Plan. This led to the committee’s recommendation to provide target dates for the Interstate Planning and City Location Studies.

Click on Links Below to View/Download each District Tabloid.

Amarillo TxDOT District

Lubbock TxDOT District

Abilene TxDOT District

Odessa TxDOT District

San Angelo TxDOT District

Laredo TxDOT District

Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Update

Three MPOs provided an update: Laredo and Webb County MPO, San Angelo MPO, and Eagle Pass MPO. Congratulations to Eagle Pass, TX on the creation of its new MPO.

The I-27 and Future I-27 corridor includes the three MPOs that updated the commission. There are three additional MPOs serving the corridor: Amarillo Metropolitan Planning Organization, Lubbock Metropolitan Planning Organization, and Permian Basin Metropolitan Planning Organization.

These MPOs are critical to successful project development and construction of projects within their urban areas.

Statewide Long-Range Transportation Plan

Connecting Texas 2050, the latest update to the Statewide Long-Range Transportation Plan (SLRTP), is the cornerstone multimodal transportation planning document at TxDOT. Updated every four years, this plan considers current and future transportation choices and how they integrate as a system to serve Texans and their economy. With Connecting Texas 2050, TxDOT establishes the vision, goals, objectives, performance measures, and strategic recommendations for the state’s multimodal transportation system through 2050. Connecting Texas 2050 development kicked off in the fall of 2022 and concluded in the summer of 2024 with the Texas Transportation Commission adopting the plan on July 30, 2024.

CLICK HERE to View/Download Connecting Texas 2050

Corridors of Statewide Significance

Corridors of Statewide Significance

The Corridors of Statewide Significance play a crucial role in connecting different regions and facilitating the movement of people and goods across Texas. Some of these corridors have been studied, and others will require future studies to identify issues and needs.
Rural corridors identified as Corridors of Statewide Significance will be eligible for funding. As projects along the Corridors of Statewide Significance advance to implementation (construct/expand/improve), they will increasingly contribute to achieving Connecting Texas 2050's vision and goals, enhancing efficiency, promoting economic development, and improving the overall quality of life for all Texas residents.

Future Interstates

With three future interstates under planning and development, Texas is in a unique position at the crossroads for trade and connectivity with Mexico as well as other U.S. States and Canada. When completed, the combined lengths of I-14, I-27, and I-69 will double the interstate mileage in Texas, while eliminating connectivity gaps that currently exist along portions of I-35, I-10, I-20, and I-30, and will provide economic opportunity to Texans.

Within the presentation, the Estimated I-27 Investment was provided showing the Improvement Mileage, Planning Cost per mile and Total Cost. Planning and total costs are presented in a range of low to high.