On the Move

So long Maggie!

Maggie and yours truly at her retirement shindig

You’ve probably seen Maggie Rios on the local news talking about road construction, lane closures, and the like, but you won’t see her on TV anymore– at least not as a TxDOT spokesperson.  That’s because after 30 years of toiling at the state’s highway agency, Maggie has decided it’s time to give up the limelight and retire.  Now she’s off to do what most pensioners look forward to doing: spending ample time with her grandkids and husband and just plain relaxing.

I’ve known Maggie for almost two decades now, going back to when she was an assistant to David Otwell, the agency’s local public information officer back in the late ’80s and early ’90s.  She is a wonderfully kind person and a consummate professional who always strove to be the best liaison and ombudsman possible between TxDOT’s San Antonio district office and John Q. Citizen, an often challenging proposition.  She has provided immeasurable assistance to me over the years in the form of numerous documents, answers to countless questions, and the fielding of a number of complaints and suggestions (yes, even I complain to TxDOT once and a while).  Along the way, she has become a good friend.

As such, it was an honor and privilege for me to be able to attend her retirement ceremony a few weeks ago, during which she received a proclamation from the Legislature thanking her for her many years of service, as well as a flag that had been flown over the state capitol in her honor.  Additionally, she received a nice plaque from TxDOT and a wonderful gift from her co-workers.  It was obvious that she will be greatly missed.

Enjoy your retirement Maggie!

Loop 1604 “super-street” previewed

Late last month, the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority held a public meeting to show plans for a super-street and other related improvements on Loop 1604 West.  (My vacation started immediately after the meeting, thus the reason I’m just now getting around to writing this.)  At this time, the plans include super-street intersections at New Guilbeau and at Shaenfield and ancillary improvements at Braun and at SH 151 (with work on the former now underway.)  Here are the details of those planned improvements.

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My days at the TxDOT photo archive

I-10 south of De Zavala looking north, 1966 (TxDOT archive)

After returning from my Florida vacay a couple of weeks ago, I spent the balance of my time off of work at the TxDOT archive in Austin.  I had been wanting to go for years after seeing some of the great historical photos from there on other roadgeek websites.  I was not disappointed.

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Loop 1604 “super-street” approved

Diagram of a typical super street intersection (KY DOT)

Just yesterday, I mentioned that plans for a Loop 1604 super-street would be announced soon, and indeed the project was announced today at a Bexar County Commissioners Court meeting where the court approved kicking-in $900,000 of Advanced Transportation District funds to help pay for the $7.4 million project.  The remaining $6.5 million will come from federal stimulus funds.

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“Whoever put traffic lights on Loop 1604 needs to be punched”

The oft-maligned 1604/Braun intersection

Well, once again, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here.  I’ve been working on what I think will be an exciting new addition to my website (stay tuned for more on that soon.)  However, as I was watching the Sunday morning political talk shows, my wife mentioned something that motivated me to write this post, which is one that I’ve been meaning to do for a while.  While Facebooking (can that really be a verb?), she came across a new Facebook group with the same title as this post.  After rolling my eyes (as I often do in these situations), I realized (also as I often do in these situations) that the creator of that group– and those who subscribe to the explicit as well as implicit sentiment of it– probably just doesn’t have the back-story to understand why things are the way they are and that my initial reaction made me just as guilty of jumping to conclusions as that person was.  Whoever created the group is obviously frustrated– they even say they’re “pissed off” at the “stupid” traffic lights, and I sympathize with their frustration.  But, as is often the case, there’s more to the story than meets the eye, and maybe if folks understood how things got to be as they are, they might be more forgiving.  This posting is an attempt at that.

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TxDOT’s $1 billion accounting gaffe explained

During last night’s Texas Republican primary debate, Debra Medina and Kay Bailey Hutchison both mentioned TxDOT’s 2008 accounting error, with both saying that TxDOT lost $1 billion.  Sadly, these are people who are running for governor and even they just can’t get basic facts right.  Now I realize that for folks running for office and/or wanting to besmirch TxDOT, saying they lost $1 billion is a great talking point.  But the anticlimactic fact is this: no money was ever lost.

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TxDOT previews planned I-10 improvements

I-10 inbound at UTSA Blvd.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  With my website update and the holidays and the ensuing aftermath, I’ve been a wee bit busy, not to mention just spending time with my adorable 16-month-old!  But I’m ready to dive back in, so here goes…

I just got home from TxDOT’s public hearing on their long-planned improvements to I-10 West.  As I mentioned earlier this week, my recollection was that the proposed changes would include adding an extra freeway lane in each direction and removing the existing outbound DeZavala exit.  That indeed still forms the core of the improvements package, but there were a few other goodies.

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Bridges, new lanes finally coming for FM 3009

FM 3009 through Garden Ridge and Schertz rolls over hills and past two railroad tracks to usher some 20,000 drivers to and from Interstate 35 every day.

Construction will soon start on FM 3009

The daily odyssey along two and four lanes is far from smooth. Traffic backs up during rush hours. Thundering trains blaring horns stop lines of cars for minutes at a time.

But one thing sure to be worse will be the construction to fix the mess. And yes, after years of planning and securing needed funds, the time has arrived to widen the road and build bridges over the rail lines.

Work is scheduled to start this week to build the two overpasses and add a lane in each direction between I-35 and Nacogdoches Road, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.

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Sometimes “no” really does mean “no”

Click for larger map

A few years ago, then Texas transportation czar Ric Williamson shrugged off a citizen revolt against grand plans to build cross-state toll lanes and rail lines along Interstate 35. At the time, tens of thousands of people were showing up at dozens of public hearings to lash out at the planned Trans Texas Corridor’s I-35 leg.

Williamson, who was the Texas Transportation Commission chairman, said public hearings aren’t a vote but rather an effort to find out WHY people oppose or support a proposal and then to address those concerns.

He said:

The purpose of public hearings is not to take a survey. It is not a matter of not having sympathy for those who will have their land lost. Somebody has got to do something about (Interstate) 35. Not 10 years from now and not 25 years from now but right now.

Well, today the Texas Department of Transportation said the best way to address those concerns is to do nothing, at least for now.

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