A Study of the Trans-Texas Corridor and How it Affects Texans
Everything is bigger in Texas. That’s what a lot of Texans what Americans and people around the world to know – you don’t mess with Texas. In the 1950’s, when President Eisenhower created the first Interstate plan for the country and implemented new roads in almost every single state, it was the largest engineering feat in the modern world. Now, almost half a century later, Governor Rick Perry is set to break that record, with the costliest, largest, and most incredible-sized proportion Texas Trans-Corridor, dubbed the “Texas Superhighway,” a 4000 mile, $175 billion dollar project that won’t be completely functional for another fifty years (Perry). This project certainly has proponents and opposition. But first, we must understand what the Texas Trans-Corridor’s purpose is in the state of Texas, and how it would affect the rest of the country as a whole.
Governor Rick Perry came into office as George W. Bush’s successor in 2000. Immediately, he laid down his plans for the future of Texas, without having the say of most of Texas’s constituents, since he was appointed based on Bush’s presidency. Perry’s grand vision is nothing short of incredible, even to the opponent’s eyes. At a quarter-mile wide, the Texas Superhighways that will probably soon cross Texas will be the largest transportation commodity in the free world (Stall). Perry’s idea doesn’t just answer problems for congestion on highways – it answers problems for congested railroads in major cities such as San Antonio and Dallas, and it also develops one of the newest concepts to the Texas way of life, high speed rail, which has only dared to compete in the Northeast “corridor” of the United States. Perry also wants to develop a utility zone next to the highway, which will enable electricity lines, pipelines, fiber optics, even water pipelines toward any city that is connected to the corridor. (Perry)
Perry’s vision is supposed to answer one specific problem that almost all Texans do know about: How do we curb congestion on the most congested freeway with trucks and vehicular traffic in the United States? I-35, notorious for its bottlenecks between Austin and San Antonio, is part of the NAFTA Superhighway system. I-35 extends all the way to Michigan down to Laredo in South Texas (Associated Press – KBTX). When the NAFTA ...
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... on how they drive around this massive state.
Works Cited
Palkot, Stephen. "Perry promotes corridor project." The Herald -Coaster 25 Mar. 2005. 14 Apr. 2005 .
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"What's at stake: Slow down the Trans-Texas Superhighway: Let's LookBefore We Leap!" Online posting. Texas Action Network. 14 Apr. 2005 .
"Texas Superhighway?" KBTX. 14 Apr. 2005
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Stall, Linda. CorridorWatch.org - Challenging the Wisdom of the
Trans-Texas Corridor.. 09 Apr. 2005. 14 Apr. 2005 .
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Slotboom, Eric. Home Page. 17 July 2001. 03 May 2005
...ve their advantage and disadvantage in regards their tax system; however, we can see that the state of Texas needs to find a better system to growth its tax revenue, they need to move to a progressive system, where there is a charge for income tax, but by putting a margin were only certain brackets pay the tax, and live exempt the people who makes $30,000.00 or less. This will improve the amount of income for the state, to help suicide certain causes, such as The Education system, Medicaid, and also help the Department of Transportation to pay old debts due to the construction and maintenance of new roads. This will help to stop the plan of considering bringing international companies to build new roads with the commitment of paying toll during the next fifty years, which is only going to benefit the private company, but not any changes in the revenue of the state.
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In Henry George’s article, What the Railroad Will Bring Us, it discusses the main social, political, and economic transformations that the trans-continental railroad would bring to the state of California. More importantly, he discusses not only the benefits, but also discusses the major drawbacks with the arrival of the railroad. Henry George stated the railroad would be the “greatest work of the age” (297). With a railroad stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, multiple benefits would be brought to the state of California. First, the railroad will not only create a new means of transportation across the United States, it additionally would also become “one of the greatest material prosperity” of its time (298). This means more people, more houses,
Web. 09 Feb. 2011. O'Connor, Karen J. "Chapter 20: The Context for Texas Politics and Government. " American Government Continuity And Change, 2006 Election Update Texas Edition.
The expansion of agriculture and railroads helped form Texas’s present economy. The invention of the steam engine not only allowed people to move across the country in 7 days, instead of 6 months, but it also allowed crops and livestock to be carried to markets and places where they would be sold anywhere in the country. They could be moved to another farm in Texas as well. Since it’s such a large state, railroads were a necessity for travel, and general transportation. The railroad-building boom lasted 40 years. The production of cotton in Texas introduced some of the first slave-based cotton farms, and was the dominant crop for a very long time. After this event, Texas’s economy was forever changed.
University of Texas at Austin. Texas Politics, The legislative Branch. Austin, 2nd Edition-Revision 94 2009, Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services.
Railroads first appeared around the 1830’s, and helped the ideas of Manifest Destiny and Westward expansion; however, these were weak and didn’t connect as far as people needed, thus causing them to be forced to take more dangerous routes. On January 17th, 1848, a proposal was sent to Congress by Asa Whitney to approve and provide federal funding...
The state of Texas faces several issues year round. The state and government agencies pursue to find solutions for these problems. One of the solutions is to finish the border wall to prevent this from happening. Since Texas borders with Mexico one of the main issues it faces is immigration and the trafficking of drugs. The borders along the south side of Texas are an easy pathway to get the immigrants and drugs into the country.
Texas went through a great amount of political change from being dominated by the Democratic Party during the 1960s and 70s, from the Republican Party taking over in the 80s. One of the big reasons for this change was due to the political party’s views. Throughout this essay I will discuss the changes of the political stances in Texas as well as the present day factors that affect America.
Throughout the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century, the United States economy changed dramatically as the country transformed from a rural agricultural nation to an urban industrial gian, becoming the leading manufacturing country in the world. The vast expansion of the railroads in the late 1800s’ changed the early American economy by tying the country together into one national market. The railroads provided tremendous economic growth because it provided a massive market for transporting goods such as steel, lumber, and oil. Although the first railroads were extremely successful, the attempt to finance new railroads originally failed. Perhaps the greatest physical feat late 19th century America was the creation of the transcontinental railroad. The Central Pacific Company, starting in San Francisco, and the new competitor, Union Pacific, starting in Omaha. The two companies slaved away crossing mountains, digging tunnels, and laying track the entire way. Both railroads met at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869, and drove one last golden spike into the completed railway. Of course the expansion of railroads wasn’t the only change being made. Another change in the economy was immigration.
Texas has a total land area of 261,914 square miles- making it the second largest state in the United States. Combined with a diverse geography, Texas has one of the most varied climates of any state. As the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increases year by year, causing an increase in the Earth’s average overall temperature, changes in our climate are inevitable. We will investigate how those changes will affect the life of the everyday Texan - from our water resources, to our cities and why they are important issues that need to be addressed by our society.
The Transcontinental railroad could be defined as the most monumental change in America in the 19th century. The railroad played a significant role in westward expansion and on the growth and development of the American economy (Gillon p.653). However, the construction of the transcontinental railroad may not have occurred if not for the generous support of the federal government. The federal government provided land grants and financial subsidies to railroad companies to ensure the construction. The transcontinental railroad contributed to the formation of industry and the market economy in America and forever altered the American lifestyle.
Austin era, DRT, DAR, etc. Yes, my family is recognized at the Alamo and San Jacinto monument. I am concerned though that Perry mainly wants a decrease in federal power for personal gain: “a wolf in sheep 's clothes.” This 2009 Governor Perry interview lays some of the groundwork for recent radical discussion of Texas seceding from the Union, which Gov. Perry does not support. I believe in working together within the system and not fracturing relationships between minorities, whites, federal and state governments. Texans trade a high state sales tax for no state income tax. We (Texans) provide minimal services to our growing minority population. Recidivism is high and yet we do little to address substance abuse, mental illness, and lack of education as these are up to the individual. This is great if you happen to be well educated, white, and well to do. I was lucky enough to be born into this situation. Sometimes it is cheaper to address a cause instead of repeatedly dealing with the repercussions. Poorly educated and minority Texans if energized to vote can change the political makeup of Texas, and the demand for services in the future. My GOVT 2305 course pushed minority education and voting. With Texas demographics changing, if voter turnout changes current political powers do not reflect these differences.
Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians are perhaps three of the most prominent political parties within Texas. Within the pages of their party platforms, we see that each possesses a unique philosophy, with specific viewpoints and recommendations for shaping or reforming government policy. To be sure, the people of Texas face many challenges, two of the most compelling issues being the crisis in healthcare and in education. Not only are we lacking in these areas as Texans, but also on the national level. The parties’ stance on these two major issues defines them, giving us insight into the mind and intentions of each.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Works eventually came up with a plan that called for an elevated highway 1.5 miles long through the heart of downtown Boston, accompanied by an Inner Belt that wrapped around downtown Boston to the west. In 1948 City and State officials approved a master plan, construction commenced in 1950. As soon as construction had started it became quite clear that the supposedly revolutionary highway had major flaws.