2002-01-28 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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CHAPTER 15. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING , SUBCHAPTER E. FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL PARTICIPATION 43 TAC §15.54 The Texas Department of Transportation proposes amendments to §15.54, Construction, concerning federal, state, and local par- ticipation in highway improvement projects. Transportation Code, Chapter 203, provides that the Texas Transportation Commission (commission) may layout, construct, maintain, and operate a modem state highway system, with emphasis on the construction of controlled access highways. To promote public safety, facilitate the movement of traffic, preserve the public's financial investment in highways, and promote national defense, the commission may convert where necessary an existing street, road, or highway into a controlled access highway in accordance with modern standards of speed and safety. This chapter also authorizes the commission to designate a state highway as a controlled access highway, deny access to or from a controlled access highway, designate the location, type and extent of access to be permitted to a controlled access highway, and to dose a public or private way at or near its intersection with a controlled access highway. Due to the significant cost associated with the construction and maintenance of controlled access highways, it is imperative that they provide maximum traffic handling capacity for as long as practical. Adjacent development and access points. along con- trolled access highways contribute to congestion and early de- terioration of the operation of the main travel lanes, thereby re- ducing the ability of the state highway system to safely and effi- ciently move higher volumes of traffic. By limiting construction of new frontage roads, it is anticipated that the capacity of the main travel lanes will be preserved by promoting future development along parallel or perpendicular facilities. In addition, limiting the construction of new frontage roads will allow scarce state high- way funding to be used to address other needed highway im- provement projects across the state. The amendments remove the consideration of funding for a frontage road in §15.54(d)(3) through (5) from the decision of whether to build a frontage road. Elimination of these paragraphs will ensure administrative authorization of all new frontage road construction in the state and provide more concise requirements for inclusion of frontage road construction and provisions for added access to new and existing controlled access facilities. The amendments state that it is the intent of the department to not construct frontage roads on new or existing controlled a facilities unless approved by the executive director or designee. Frontage road construction may be approved when needed to improve the safety and efficient operations of the state highway 26 TkzBeg 10816 December 28, 2001 Texas Register