Among those projects was the widening of FM 2978 in Montgomery County.
"[The Houston-Galveston Area Council] did not have a detailed selection criteria for these projects, but we were guided by legislative direction and direction from [TxDOT] to advance projects that could be ready for construction to begin in 2015," said Alan Clark, director of transportation planning for H-GAC. "We looked to develop a list that fit within the funding available but also provided the best benefit to the Houston region."
Texas voters passed Prop. 1 with 80 percent approval, which amended the state constitution to authorize the redirection of half of the revenue generated from severance taxes levied on oil and gas extraction—ordinarily deposited into the Economic Stabilization Fund, or Rainy Day Fund—to the State Highway Fund.
A total of $1.7 billion was deposited into the SHF for use in 2015. A little more than
$278 million of that $1.7 billion has been allocated to TxDOT's Houston district, according to the H-GAC.
"Some of the priority projects identified were advanced by two or three years, and one of the projects was sped up by 20 years," Clark said. "In every case, the Prop. 1 funds are enabling us to do these projects sooner and in some cases, at all."
FM 2978
The FM 2978 corridor is one of the three projects in Montgomery County expected to receive long-anticipated mobility improvements in late 2015 or early 2016.
"Growth in the Greater Tomball-Magnolia-The Woodlands area is producing significant congestion, and additional Prop. 1 funds will ensure there is no gap in the widening of the FM 2978 corridor from two to four lanes," H-GAC Program Manager David Wurdlow said.
The two-lane FM 2978 widening project from Conroe Huffsmith Road to Dry Creek will be constructed with $4.4 million in Prop. 1 funds, Wurdlow said.
Directly north of the
Prop. 1-funded project, the H-GAC Transportation Policy Council identified $12.5 million in 2013 for another FM 2978 two-lane widening project from FM 1488 to south of Dry Creek, he said.
The northern segment will not be funded through Prop 1. The project will instead receive 80 percent of its funding through federal Surface Transportation Program funds, and TxDOT will provide a 20 percent funding match, Wurdlow said.
TxDOT Public Information Officer Danny Perez said both FM 2978 projects are scheduled to go out for bid this fall pending environmental approval. Construction could begin on the two segments shortly afterward in winter 2015 or early 2016, he said.
"It was chosen by the [H-GAC] Metropolitan Planning Organization to allow for the construction of the whole corridor since the section north of [the Prop. 1 project] from FM 1488 to south of Dry Creek was funded," Perez said.
Other projects
The priority projects that will receive Prop. 1 funds in 2015 were broken down into three categories.
Major highway reconstruction projects are the most expensive. The projects in this category include the $98 million widening of Hwy. 290 in Harris County from west of Bauer Road to FM 2920 and the $93 million widening of Hwy. 59 in Fort Bend County from west of Spur 10 to Darst Road.
Seven projects—two each in Harris, Montgomery and Fort Bend counties as well as one in Galveston County—fall into the second category of interchanges and other highway reconstruction. Included in this category in Montgomery County is the $3.9 million construction project that will add two frontage lanes along Hwy. 59 from north of FM 2090 to south of the East River.
Harris County projects in this category include adding auxiliary lanes and widening bridges along Beltway 8 from I-45 to Hwy. 59 for $26 million.
The final three projects fall under the last category of highway rehabilitation. This includes the base repair and overlay on FM 3083 in Conroe for $3.96 million.
"These are projects that are ready to go," Wurdlow said. "The designs are ready, the environmental reviews are mostly completed or nearing completion and they meet all the requirements for any project receiving Prop. 1 funding."
Funding a shortfall
Although the Houston region will receive $278 million more for road construction projects with the passage of Prop. 1, transportation officials say more money is needed to keep up with increasing infrastructure costs.
TxDOT estimates its unmet annual transportation needs are about $5 billion, which includes $1 billion for recurring maintenance, $3 billion for mobility projects and $1 billion for repairs related to increased energy sector activity.
The Texas comptroller has estimated that about $1.2 billion statewide will be available through Prop. 1 funds in fiscal year 2016 and slightly more than that in fiscal year 2017, which represents about $500 million less than what was allocated in 2015, Clark said.
Even if funds from Prop. 1 stayed at $1.7 billion a year, it would only amount to about one-third of the money TxDOT needs each year to keep up with routine road maintenance.
In an effort to make up for the approximately $3.5 billion needed—in addition to Prop. 1 funds—to fund transportation annually in the state, newly elected Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have called on the state Legislature to find ways to increase transportation funding by $4 billion annually.
An option under consideration is Senate Bill 5 and Senate Joint Resolution 5, which were authored by state Sen. Robert Nichols, R–Jacksonville, who heads the Senate Transportation Committee.
The proposed legislation—which was approved by the Senate Transportation Committee on Feb. 25 in an 8–1 vote—would allocate the first $2.5 billion collected by the motor vehicle sales and rental tax to the general revenue fund as it does under current law and the next $2.5 billion each year would be dedicated to the SHF.
Additional revenue in excess of $5 billion would be split evenly between the two accounts.
Funds allocated to the SHF from motor vehicle sales and rental tax revenue could only be used for the acquisition of right of way, construction and maintenance of non-tolled roads and bridges, and to pay off general revenue transportation-related debt.
"With the things we are planning for this session to help fund transportation, we will be able to add about $4.1 billion to the [SHF] annually," said state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R–Brenham, who also sits on the Senate Transportation Committee.
Kolkhorst said the proposed legislation is expected to generate about $2 billion a year for the SHF, and as the state's population continues to grow and more people purchase vehicles, that amount will increase.
SB5 and SJR5 were passed by the Senate on March 4 in a 28-2 vote. The proposed legislation will now move to the House for a vote.
Should the legislation be passed by the House, it would be placed on the November ballot for voter approval.
If approved by voters, the dedication of funds as stipulated by the proposed legislation would begin in the 2018–19 biennium.
Additional reporting by Brian Walzel
