Highways for shipping goods is insanity at it's best. Rail transport is 400+ miles per gallon per ton of transport. Semi's get 6-10 MPG and carry about 5 tons. For the same load that's 80 MPG for the train vs 6-10 MPG for a truck. What costs more for both fuel and the economy?

as soon as the bush is out of office then the price of oil will go back down

Evan is right. The only thing he got wrong was the price of oil. How about $150 a barrel this summer?

You folks up in Oklahoma had best get ready for what is heading your way. The devil is in the details with this Trans Texas Corridor. It will go from Mexico to Canada eventually if the business community get their way. They are NOT interested in using existing right of ways, because what they really want is a wide new right of way so that they can controll the concession rights. Yes that's right. Folks whos land would border the corridor would not have any concession access to the highway to place gas stations or any type of business, making the property value of bordering land go way down, as you would have a hard time selling anything next to a corridor that you couldn't access. Our Texas Governor Rick Perry went around our Texas Congress and negioated the proposed contract in secret. We never got to vote on the TTC, and they dont want us to vote as they know the cash cow corridor they are trying to setup for the Governor's business constituents would never pass. It is just inheritantly wrong to force a private land owner to sell their land to a private business using eminent domain. In this case with the corridors, the private business is a FOREIGN business construction company called Cintra. The foreign company would own the toll road, controll concessions, and set and collect the tolls. They cannot be held accountable at the voting booth if they deliver poor road maintenance or raise tolls too high. These collected tolls would leave the country instead of being used for future highways. That's bull crap.
What I have said here only scratches the surface of what big construction business is trying to set up at the American's expense. There is much more here that does not readily meet the eye that involves China using the corridors to import to the U.S. using Mexican ports and trucks, bypassing our Ammerican ports and truckers. That translates to more lost jobs for Americans. China is now investing billions in Mexican ports. Like I said, the devil is in the details on this corridor. Get informed Okies and fight this together with us Texicans.

By the way... I realize the TTC is a private enterprise project. However, seeing how private/public enterprise has been skewed in recent years, I can see how we might start seeing public funds used to subsidize private industry. Remember the state capitol dome?

If this road is ever built, it will likely not be used as intended and would be a grand waste of energy/resources. Diesel fuel is already over $4.00 in most parts of the nation. Oil is at $117 a barrel. Long haul transportation of freight by road is horribly inefficient.

The reason long haul trucking exists at all is the fact that the nation turned away from the railroads back in the 1950's as Eisenhower planned and implemented construction of the National Defense Highway system, (aka... our federally supported interstate highway network). This system is based upon what he saw in Nazi Germany during WWII. However, when was the last time we needed our interstate system for such? The railroads still carry implements of destruction to their various ports for overseas delivery. Why? because the military does not want equipment half used when it reaches the battlefield.

Private investors, such as Warren Buffet, are now investing in true private corporations such as the railroads. It would make more sense to plow your treasures into railroads at this point, even with the USDOT/ODOT/TxDOT imbalance skewed toward the construction of new roads for use by the interstate trucking industry some rational thought must prevail. The taxpayers and users of our existing roads will be forced to wake up when oil reaches $125 a barrel this summer.

Transportation imbalance must end. Hopefully our nation's addiction to foreign oil is ending. Change is hard and those who plan our state/national transportation networks need to wake up and find solutions to our national transportation crisis.

What is David Streb doing commenting on the Trans Texas Corridor? At last count, Streb -- who spent years diverting, deflecting and confusing citizen input on the death-wish for Oklahoma known as the "New Crosstown project" -- was an assistant director at ODOT. ODOT is supposed to be "the public roads" -- not the turnpikes. Here's how it is: ODOT exists to serve the highway contractors and the trucking lobby. Period. It no longer serves the people of the state of Oklahoma. It, instead, participates in trying to use most folks' ignorance of the intricacies of transportation policy against them. This article might make a really good starting place for a much needed, comprehensive federal grand jury investigation of ODOT -- including puppetmaster Neal McCaleb. When ODOT "director" Gary Ridley is "talking," look closely. The hairy hand you see inside the Ridley puppet's mouth belongs to Neal McCaleb -- who personally presided over the methodical destruction of Oklahoma's roadways over the last 30 years, apparently for his own enjoyment, and for the enrichment of himself and his highway contractor friends. You can always tell when these people are lying. "Their mouths are moving."

Wow, Sean, you contribute so much to these forums.
Do you have anything else in your comeback repertoire besides "(insert name here), you're an idiot"?
Probably not.
Why do you even bother?

I love how "conservatives" moan and groan about the government taking their money, but when a private company wants to build a road without tax money, everybody is up in arms.

A simpler and less costly solution would be to build a 3rd lane on all interstate hwys. and not allow trucks in this lane. There is ample room for construction in the current rights-of-ways.
A. J. Johnson, Jr. Ardmore