Boondoggle – n., work or activity that is wasteful or pointless but gives the appearance of having value
At least since the 1960s, the overlords in the high towers of state transportation offices would have us to believe that the solution to all problems concerning mobility on the roads is expanding said roads or providing “relief routes” around cities and towns.
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), in its infinite wisdom dispelled from its high castle, has determined that after decades of “wouldn’t that be nice?” status and hinting around at it, a “relief route” has been greenlit to support safe and efficient traffic flow from the north to south ends of the county. Some of that sentence is TxDOT’s words, not mine, but I’m sure all three of my loyal readers can determine which is which.
The sword of progress is large, heavy and sharp, and it seems as though every time any of us turn around, it’s cutting a swath through something. Many of us who have lived in Tyler County for most (or all) of our lives can recall hearing, for most (or all) of our lives about this project, and how it would make our rural way of living better.
The problem with all of that many folks just do not feel that same way. Recent concern about the project has focused on the possible ramifications of how a bypass route would desecrate Tyler County’s business community, and those concerns are legitimate and well expressed.
Recent polling, at the national level, indicate that the majority of American taxpayers just don’t feel that highway expansions are the best solution for reducing traffic congestion. A 2021 poll published in the Washington Post put that number at 82% of those surveyed, to be exact.
In the Post’s findings, it was estimated that highway widening and expansion ate up, in excess, of a third of states’ capital expenditures on infrastructure, a figure stated as more than $19 billion.
Additionally, 71% of those polled agreed that freedom to move wherever one needs to go is important, but states should fund other options.
Other options, such as bike lanes, trains, sidewalks and buses could provide an alternative to costly, never-ending road expansion projects, which the “US 69 Woodville-Colmesneil Relief Route” is sure to be.
The Big Thicket region is one of the most incredibly biodiverse areas in the country, and the degradation to the natural environment that such a project would cause is staggering.
Many of the public comments ponied up on the project have concerned what one of the possible route’s effects would be on the Scott Scout Ranch (formerly Camp Urland), a longtime Boy Scout enclave in the county. About an equal number of comments (in total, these comments numbered nearly a thousand) concerned a beloved blueberry farm located near Doucette. One of the routes would, in essence, vivisect that property.
My take on the whole project is simple: why not just keep US 69 going through Tyler County as it is, with regular maintenance?
Of course, my take on this project is, traditionally now, “too controversial,” in the all-knowing eyes of political leaders, according to Beth Osborne, who is the director of Transportation for America.
Osborne is quoted in a story published last July on the Urbanist, that prioritizing the maintenance of existing roads is “just too controversial,” yet according to survey after survey of the people that legislators serve, there’s no controversy – they’re beyond the old model of expansion projects and building of new roads.
A relief route, or bypass, used to be associated with economic progress, but money put toward this project could be reallocated into, hmmmm, I dunno, maybe helping develop a more thriving downtown district in Woodville.
A huge mistake was made many years ago when the railroad route running parallel to 69 was abandoned, but since then, we’ve heard that would be TxDOT’s intended route for a relief route, time after time after time.
With a projected project down to two routes, the railroad right-of-way being one of them and another running between Heritage Village and the airport, there’s still much in the way of public comments, meetings, environmental studies and a legion of further moving parts before any land is lost.
There are many other ways money can be spent than bypassing our cities, and time after time, example after example shows where economies have been hampered in small towns by such projects.
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