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Legislation introduced in Congress intends to designate the future extension of Interstate 27 in Texas.
Reps. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) introduced House Resolution 7151, the Ports-to-Plains Highway Act of 2020, which resulted from the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) Interstate Feasibility Study, Roads & Bridges reported. The expansion is expected to boost the Lone Star State’s GDP by $55.6 billion, generate 17,710 new jobs, and save $450 million in safety improvements. The Ports-to-Plains Corridor, which covers four states at present, travels through Lubbock.
Arrington said the extension is essential to enhancing the country’s agriculture and energy dominance.
“However you want to measure it — new jobs, economic growth, reductions in traffic and accidents — the return on investment for the Ports-to-Plains highway project is tremendous, not only for Texas, but for the entire country,” Arrington said.
The Tahoka Economic Development Corp. said on its website that TxDOT estimated travel cost savings to be $3.4 billion within the corridor.
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