Funding Bill Boosts I-69 Project

CARTHAGE — Language changes included in the $140 million highway funding bill signed into law Friday are expected to speed completion of the state’s long-awaited Interstate 69 project. According to KETK and the Longview News-Journal, completed highway segments not connected to an existing interstate highway can now be added to the Interstate Highway System, paving the way for U.S. 59 to become part of the I-69 system. The North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority board of directors met Tuesday in Carthage to discuss the impact the change will have locally.

“This bill puts I-69 back to the way it was when the interstate system was first started in the 1950s,” said Charles Thomas. Thomas, a member of the Alliance for I-69 Texas, said the I-69 project, which will run from Brownsville to Texarkana in Texas and ultimately to the Canadian border, has been in the planning stages for more than 25 years. Because of the change in federal law, about 100 miles of I-69 routes already at or near interstate highway standards, including U.S. 59, can be part of the I-69 corridor. The exact I-69 route has yet to be determined, but is getting close, said James Carlow, who represents the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce for the I-69 project.