AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott yesterday announced a record $142 billion in total investment for Texas’ transportation infrastructure.
The investment includes the unanimous adoption of the $100 billion ten-year statewide roadway construction plan with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for transportation projects to enhance safety, improve congestion and connectivity, and preserve Texas roadways. This is a $25 billion increase in total investment from the previous year.
In February, Abbott announced TxDOT’s proposed 2024 Unified Transportation Program (UTP), estimated to be $15 billion more than the 2023 UTP.
With the State of Texas providing a majority of the funding, the 2024 UTP includes a total investment of over $142 billion for all development and delivery projects, right of way acquisition, engineering, routine maintenance contracts, and UTP construction funding.
The over $10 billion of average annual investment programmed in the UTP over the next ten years is expected to bring an estimated $18.8 billion per year in economic benefits, per the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s analysis. These benefits are a result of increased labor income and business output, as well as the addition of 70,500 direct and indirect jobs.
Many of the projects in this plan are roadway segments identified on Texas’ 100 Most Congested Roadways list. Texas Clear Lanes congestion-relief projects will see an increase in funding, supporting $66.7 billion total investment for completed, under-construction, and planned non-tolled projects since 2015. Funding for rural projects also increased to $19.2 billion, a major jump from $2.2 billion in the 2016 UTP.