H.R. 2617 to allocate funding to Portsto-plains Highway Texas Corridor

Special to the Herald

The Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2617) passed the U.S. Senate on Thursday, December 22, 2022 and the U.S. House on Friday, December 23, 2022, with President Biden signing the legislation on Thursday, December 29, 2022. Included in the bill were four Community Projects benefitting the Ports-to-plains Alliance Corridor in Texas.

“After securing a federal highway designation for I-27 last year, I’m excited we were able to get funding to make the Ports-to-plains Corridor a reality,” said Congressman Jodey Arrington (R-TX 19th District). “This is an important investment in West Texas’ transportation infrastructure, which will strengthen our food and fuel supply from the nation’s largest energy and agricultural production centers. All of Texas will stand to benefit from new job growth and trade expansion, allowing us to fully realize the substantial economic benefits of USMCA.”

Following the designation in H.R. 2617 of the Ports-to-plains Corridor as an Interstate along the Corridor in Texas Congressional District 19, the first Community Project will initiate planning as recommended by the Ports-to-plains Corridor Interstate Feasibility Study Final Report published in October 2020 by Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT). Arrington requested $1.6 million, which will be matched by TXDOT with $400,000, bringing $2.0 million toward initiating Project Feasibility, Preliminary Design, and Environmental for interstate upgrades along the Portsto-plains Texas Corridor.

The next two Community Projects address State Loop 88 located in Lubbock, Texas, which will be a major reliever route to the Ports-to-plains Corridor. The final project included in the FY2023 Omnibus Appropriations bill will benefit the connection between the Ports-toplains Corridor and the Camino Real

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