Deadline Approaches for Colonia Improvement Proposals
Border county officials have until Sept. 30 to submit project proposals to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for road improvement projects in border colonias as part of TxDOT’s Border Colonia Access Program (BCAP).
Gov. Rick Perry has asked the Texas Public Finance Authority to issue $50 million in bonds to fund road improvements for border colonias.
Unpaved and deteriorated roads in many of the state’s border colonia communities cause transportation and drainage problems.
“With half a million Texans living in 2,300 colonia communities, we have much more work to do,” Perry said. “For colonia children to be able to learn in school, or adults to be able to report for work on time, the most basic infrastructure must be in place to ensure school buses and passenger vehicles can get in and out of colonias safely.”
In 2001, Texas voters approved a $175 million bond package to support the road improvement program.
The Texas Transportation Commission approved the first $50 million round of projects in 2002. To date, 274 projects have been funded in 21 counties.
Project selection will be based on the number of people to be served by a project, current condition of area roadways, a project’s relationship to an existing or planned school bus route, and its role in providing access to other parts of the region.
For more information, go to http://www.dot.state.tx.us/tpp/bcap.htm.