SRC-AXB S.C.R. 47 76(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.C.R. 47
76R7937  RVH-DBy: Shapleigh
Infrastructure
4/27/1999
As Filed


DIGEST 

A three-year road test by the American Association of State Highway
Officials determined that one fully-loaded 80,000 pound truck causes road
damage equivalent to that caused by 9,600 cars. Eighty-five percent of all
United States trade with Mexico passes through port-of-entry on the
TexasMexico border.  With the advent of the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA), truck traffic in border communities and on major trade
corridors has increased dramatically.  While NAFTA-related truck traffic
has significantly increased the wear and tear on highways, roads, and
bridges, the funding formulas used by the Texas Department of
Transportation (TxDOT) to allocate maintenance funds may not adequately
reflect the current cost of repairing road and bridge damage caused by this
increased traffic.  S.C.R. 47 would direct TxDOT to study factors that
cause road damage and revise its funding formulas to reflect and address
the damage caused by NAFTA truck traffic. 

PURPOSE

As proposed, S.C.R. 47 submits the following resolutions:

That the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is urged to conduct a
study on the factors which cause road damage and to revise formulas to
reflect and address damage caused by NAFTA truck traffic.  

That the secretary of state forward an official copy of this resolution to
the executive director of TxDOT.