Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Texas

New Threat: States Robbing From Education to Pay for Highway Expansions

By Angie Schmitt | Mar 19, 2013 | 4 Comments

Last week, protesters gathered on the statehouse steps in Little Rock, Arkansas, to oppose a bill that would transfer money from the state’s general fund into its highway fund. The 100 or so protesters — mainly from the education and social services sectors — warned that the legislation would transfer $2.3 billion in revenue over 10 […]

Report: Most States Have Poor Safeguards Against the Revolving Door

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 4, 2013 | 4 Comments

Last week we looked at three state DOTs which are currently led by former lobbyists for the asphalt or energy industries. The “Revolving Door” series highlighted how billions in federal funding for transportation get funneled, with no oversight, to states where money and politics corrupt policy and lead to shocking amounts of waste. While it’s outrageous […]

The Revolving Door: TxDOT’s Phil Wilson, “Revolver in Chief”

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 1, 2013 | 9 Comments

This is the final installment in our three-part “Revolving Door” series about how cronyism in state DOTs leads to wasteful highway building. The first part profiled Ohio DOT chief Jerry Wray and the second part looked at Oklahoma DOT boss Gary Ridley. Both Wray and Ridley left the DOTs to work as asphalt industry lobbyists, only to return […]

The Coming Infrastructure Crisis in Texas

By Angie Schmitt | Oct 4, 2012 | 6 Comments

The way Texas throws around money for highways — $5.2 billion for a third outer-belt for Houston, $2 billion for Dallas’ eighth downtown highway — you would think TxDOT was running over with cheddar. This is a state, need we remind you, that “found” $350 million for a stalled highway project local leaders freely admit was designed […]

Highway Safety for Sale in Texas

By Angie Schmitt | Sep 13, 2012 | 10 Comments

Leave it to Texas. The Lone Star State just raised the speed limit on a toll road between San Antonio and Austin to 85 miles per hour, giving it the highest legal driving speed in the country. Texas transportation officials, for their part, have been nonchalant. Veronica Beyer, a department spokeswoman, told the New York Times,”tests […]

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