Decades ago, the Ports-to-Plains Trade Corridor was designated as a national, high-priority corridor. The existing 124 miles of Interstate 27 were completed in 1992. Texas has made some progress, but there are significant portions of the Corridor still needing upgrading to four-lane divided highway or better.
When finally brought to fruition, the Ports-to-Plains Trade Corridor will connect Texas' key economic areas: trade, energy, and agriculture. Given the growth of South and West Texas, the corridor will also support these vital communities as an international, national, and state transportation corridor.
According to a feasibility study required by the 86th Texas Legislature and conducted by the Texas Transportation Commission (TxDOT), "upgrading the entire Ports-to-Plains Corridor to an interstate will result in significant economic benefits and stimulate the economic prosperity of the region, the state of Texas and the nation."
This study found that the recommended interstate upgrades of the entire corridor after construction costs would yield $55.6 billion in GDP gains and $4.1 billion in annual travel cost savings in Texas. The study identified 20 interstate projects that would extend I-27 by upgrading 811 miles of the remaining non- interstate highway to an interstate standard. The study also proposed 26 relief route projects around communities, where upgrading the existing facility to interstate standards would not be feasible.
West Texas could realize these benefits if the state of Texas utilized public-private partnerships (P3s) for priority projects identified by TxDOT in major metropolitan areas of the state. Private infrastructure investment in our metro areas would free up public funds for the Ports-to-Plains Trade Corridor.
A joint report released by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas highlights opportunities to spur growth and reinvigorate the economy post-shutdown. The report -- “A Playbook for Resiliency: Creating Opportunity for All Texans” -- includes a specific recommendation to “[a]llow for more private capital to be utilized to build infrastructure through comprehensive development agreements (or CDAs).”[1]
Texas has been a leader in this area before and should assume that mantle again. One of the primary reasons to widely adopt the P3 model is that the approach puts private capital to work on infrastructure that benefits the general public. This is evidenced across many vital industries such as telecommunications and pipelines.
In addition to freeing up funds to make Ports-to-Plains a reality, there are other ways that P3s might help spur growth in West Texas:
a. Expansion of CREZ lines throughout West Texas to carry the additional electricity capacity from an increasing number of wind and solar farms to the major markets east of I-35;
b. Additional surface-water reservoirs in West Texas and the Panhandle to relieve the increasing dependence on the Ogallala aquifer;
c. Construction of fresh-water pipelines to the more drought-prone areas west of I-35.
Private capital has also been used to fund small water-treatment plans and massive flood infrastructure, such as dams and levees. Private investment in infrastructure isn’t new; and when projects run into problems, there is ample state oversight to protect residents and taxpayers from financial risks. Public-private partnerships can help bring our much-needed Ports-to-Plains project to life.
The authors serve on the Statewide Advisory Board of the Invest Texas Council.
The Honorable William R. “Bill” Keffer is the Janet Scivally and David Copeland Endowed Professor of Energy Law at Texas Tech University School of Law.
The Honorable Ron Simmons is a businessman and former member of the Texas House of Representatives.
Mr. Underwood is a former Texas Transportation Commissioner, serving from 2007 to 2015