The Texas Transportation Commission met in January to review and approve several measures affecting the state’s transportation infrastructure.
During the meeting, commissioners and Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Executive Director Marc Williams acknowledged TxDOT employees for their work during a recent winter storm that impacted much of Texas. Crews worked around the clock, pretreating roads with brine and granular materials before the storm and continuing operations to clear ice and snow from roadways. Some regions remained on 24/7 emergency shifts for a week after the event. At the height of the storm, over 5,000 road segments were affected by winter weather conditions.
Acting Commission Chairman Alvin New highlighted how TxDOT teams collaborated across districts and assisted neighboring areas as needed. “Williams praised the robust response across the state and the long days and nights crews spent working on clearing roads.” Drivers were encouraged to stay home when possible and use DriveTexas.org for real-time updates; during this period, more than 1.6 million visits were recorded on the site.
Humberto “Tito” Gonzalez Jr., TxDOT Director of Transportation Planning and Programming, presented an outline for the 2027 Unified Transportation Program (UTP), which is expected to provide $94.5 billion in funding over ten years. Including project development and maintenance contracts, total investment could reach $138.9 billion. A draft plan will be presented later this year with adoption anticipated in August.
Preliminary data from 2025 showed a continued decrease in average daily traffic fatalities—10.2 per day compared to 11.3 in 2024—marking a downward trend since 2020. Acting Chair New stated there is still progress to be made: “However, New said, every person needs to take personal responsibility to make safe decisions and follow traffic laws so we can end the 25-year streak of daily deaths on Texas roads.”
TxDOT continues efforts through engineering improvements, public education campaigns, partnerships with law enforcement, and hosting events such as the 2026 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Assignment Peer Exchange at its Austin headquarters.
Leadership changes were also announced for the Texas Freight Advisory Committee: Judge Edward Emmett retired after thirteen years as chair; Gerry Schwebel was appointed as his successor.
New noted $1.4 billion in federal funding has been allocated for Texas’ Rural Health Transformation Program over five years—an initiative that may support rural connectivity projects like expanding access via highways for communities above 20,000 residents seeking health care services.
The commission approved low-bid contracts totaling $484 million for highway improvement projects statewide; $32 million for routine maintenance; and $15.7 million for building construction in Bandera County.
In aviation matters, $29 million was awarded through state and federal grants for capital improvements at six airports.
For public transportation needs—including new vehicles supporting an Electric Vehicle Pilot Program—the commission allocated $2.4 million from state funds combined with Federal Transit Administration resources.
Three State Infrastructure Bank loans were granted:
– Up to $14.8 million to El Paso City for Metropolitan Planning Organization projects.
– Up to $16.8 million to Granbury City for utility relocation on US 377.
– Up to $17.4 million to RCH Water Supply Corporation for utility relocation on SH 205 in Rockwall County.
With these awards, State Infrastructure Bank loans have surpassed $1 billion since inception in 1997—helping fund more than $9.6 billion worth of projects across 135 communities statewide.
Nationally, U.S Department of Transportation initiatives continue supporting infrastructure resilience against extreme weather events through programs such as PROTECT Formula Funding under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/biden-administration-announces-new-protect-formula-program-73-billion-bipartisan). The department also promotes modernization efforts like RAISE grants that aim at improving roads, bridges, transit systems nationwide (https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/biden-harris-administration-announces-funding-166-projects-modernize-transportation).
