By Swinford                                          H.C.R. No. 234
         77R11374 RVH-D                           
                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, Transportation legislation enacted by the United
 1-2     States Congress has identified 43 highway corridors as being
 1-3     nationally significant for moving people and commerce; designated
 1-4     as "high priority corridors" in the National Highway System, they
 1-5     include five that are located wholly or in part in Texas and are
 1-6     eligible for priority construction and increased funding for their
 1-7     Texas segments; and
 1-8           WHEREAS, High Priority Corridor 38, officially designated the
 1-9     Ports-to-Plains Corridor, will connect Denver, Colorado, through
1-10     West Texas and the Panhandle, to the Texas-Mexico border and
1-11     stretch some 800 miles across Texas to cover approximately 110
1-12     counties with a combined population of five million; and
1-13           WHEREAS, The Ports-to-Plains Corridor in Texas extends from
1-14     Interstate Highway 35 at Laredo to U.S. Highway 83; from U.S.
1-15     Highway 83 to Carrizo Springs; from U.S. Highway 277 at Carrizo
1-16     Springs to San Angelo; from U.S. Highway 87 at San Angelo to
1-17     Sterling City and to Lamesa; the corridor also extends from U.S.
1-18     Highway 87 at Sterling City to State Highway 158 at Midland and
1-19     proceeds from Interstate Highway 20 at Midland to State Highway 349
1-20     at Lamesa; the corridor continues from U.S. Highway 87 at Lamesa to
1-21     Lubbock; Interstate Highway 27 at Lubbock to Amarillo; and U.S.
1-22     Highway 287 at Amarillo to Oklahoma; and
1-23           WHEREAS, Approximately 80 percent of overland trade traffic
1-24     between the United States and Mexico crosses Texas border ports of
 2-1     entry, and 40 percent of this traffic travels to destinations
 2-2     outside the state; the Ports-to-Plains Corridor will serve as a
 2-3     direct connection with the Texas-Mexico border and will provide a
 2-4     much-needed route for handling the increased international trade
 2-5     traffic created by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA);
 2-6     and
 2-7           WHEREAS, The Federal Highway Administration has found that
 2-8     arterial roads leading to and from border crossing sites are under
 2-9     stress and will be hard-pressed to handle significantly greater
2-10     amounts of cross-border traffic; and
2-11           WHEREAS, NAFTA has increased the United States' exports to
2-12     Mexico by 70 percent, while Mexico's exports to the United States
2-13     are expected to grow an additional 120 percent; and
2-14           WHEREAS, In addition to relieving trade traffic created by
2-15     NAFTA, the Ports-to-Plains Corridor will also provide alternatives
2-16     to congested corridors that run through metropolitan areas already
2-17     facing air quality problems and will help to develop other routes
2-18     that will coincide with other major economic development
2-19     initiatives; and
2-20           WHEREAS, Other benefits include balanced growth for all of
2-21     Texas, economic growth in rural Texas, corridor service to all
2-22     major population centers in West Texas, security, intermodal
2-23     connectivity, system connectivity, commercial vehicle
2-24     compatibility, road safety, and increased tourism; and
2-25           WHEREAS, The Texas Department of Transportation has
2-26     identified the Ports-to-Plains Corridor as a necessary and
2-27     important project and has allocated $134 million toward the
 3-1     development of a four-lane divided highway that is part of the
 3-2     Texas Trunk System; likewise, private organizations along with
 3-3     local governments have voiced their support of the Ports-to-Plains
 3-4     Corridor with over $450,000 in financial support for the corridor;
 3-5     now, therefore, be it
 3-6           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
 3-7     hereby urge the Congress of the United States to recognize the
 3-8     importance of the development of the Ports-to-Plains Corridor as a
 3-9     trade route and to fund the completion of a corridor management
3-10     plan so that the development of the corridor can begin in a timely
3-11     manner; and, be it further
3-12           RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
3-13     copies of this resolution to the secretary of the United States
3-14     Department of Transportation, to the president of the United
3-15     States, to the speaker of the house of representatives and the
3-16     president of the senate of the United States Congress, and to all
3-17     the members of the Texas delegation to the congress with the
3-18     request that this resolution be officially entered in the
3-19     Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United
3-20     States of America.