Monday, September 7, 2009
Eminent Domain-Trans-Texas Corridor
Texas government has devised a plan to create a "Supercorridor" otherwise know as the Trans-Texas Corridor that will provide straight shot highways for goods traveling through Texas from Mexico to final destinations throughout the United States. The corridors will also allow corporations to transport their toxic industrial waste through the state without directly endangering residents in populated areas. This "Supercorridor" is slated to have 6 lanes for cars, and 4 lanes for trucks, plus railroad tracks, oil and gas pipelines, water and other utility lines. However, this "Supercorridor" will come at the expense of many families, businesses, farmers and ranchers who's lives depend on the land that this Supercorridor is slatted to be built. There are many fights over this project. There are pros's and con's with this project. The corridor will relieve the already congested highways, it will keep hazardous material out of arms way and it will build new cities creating new jobs. There are many more pros's to this project but as with any other project it to has its downfalls too. I believe in helping out but not at the expense of hurting thousands of others without a plan in place to protect their rights and well being.
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I agree with you that there are many pros and cons to the Trans Texas Corridor, but I was under the impression that the debate was pretty much over (see http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6196406.html for more details) However, if you are suggesting that the new policy of moving the TTC along slowly through incremental projects is just as bad as the project itself then I might have to agree with you. Despite all the positives that might come about with the completion of such a project, the problem remains that the government is involved in taking land that does not belong to them.
ReplyDeleteThe name is dead, but the concept is still in place. The new name is "Innovative Connectivity in Texas". It is basically a smaller scale of the Trans Texas Corridor. It will be individual projects with individual proposals still affecting thousand of landowners across the state. A direct quote from Governor Perry " We really don't care what name they attach to building infrastructure in the state of Texas. The key is we have to go forward and build it" (http://www.jbs.org/jbs-news-feed/4346).
ReplyDeleteI think that the TTC poses a lot of threat to all the people's land that will be bought used to build this "Super Highway". Most of the land that they are wanting to take belongs to families that have been pasted down from generation to generation. Imagine with just a point of the finger that the government says it wants to buy your land for X amount of dollars. Is that worth it? I think it is almost the same as steeling land out from underneath people that don't have the means to fight it. On one hand, I do agree that it would provide easier transportation means to get to places across the US faster, but is that worth taking land from families that have true legacy?
ReplyDeleteit is surely wrong to build the "supercorridor" at some peoples expense, but i think it could be done with some negotiation. of course only because i say that doesnt mean it's something that will be done, but it's something that the government should take into consideration. like they say, "win some, lose some." the thing is that i have my doubts that the government will give people at risk a good deal in exchange for the land in use. so even if they offer a price to people, not everyone is going to be happy.
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