REGIONAL PLANNING
Texas is growing rapidly, and that expansion has to be managed in a way that benefits the economy as well as its residents. With increased commerce and population, comes the need for evolving roadways, according to Alex Meade, the keynote speaker for the Regional Economic Summit hosted by Texas Regional Bank and Corridor Title on Jan. 13.
Meade is the Texas Regional Bank Executive Vice President and a commissioner for TxDOT. He said 1,300 people a day are moving to Texas, and 64% of the state’s population resides in the Texas Triangle, which includes Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio.
“By the year 2100, it is supposed to be the largest Metroplex in the country,” Meade said.
Mead discussed impediments to managing growth in Texas cities. He said development chooses the path of least resistance and that attempting to control growth by halting new development can backfire as the company will likely spring up in a surround- ing city.
When he joined the TxDOT Commission, he noticed that transportation was listed under Economic Development in the state’s budget, which he said is very telling.
“Every time you build a road, you get more development. Every time you expand a highway, you get more commercial development,” Meade said. “Don’t stop growth. Let’s find a way to manage growth, and sometimes it just requires all of us to get to the table and have a conversation.”
Meade said TxDOT has a Unified Transportation Program, which is a ten-year plan that allocates $105 billion dollars to construction projects and an additional $40 billion for maintenance.
Meade pointed to another funding source — the State Infrastructure Bank. It’s a guaranteed loan in which the applicant can set the terms by recommendation.
“We will look at all options to get your project going, because we know that the faster we can get your project, the faster we can get money from a sales tax,” Meade said. “The largest revenue source for the entire state of Texas is sales tax. … So the quicker we can put a road and get commerce flowing through that [city], the quicker TxDOT can get more funding.”
Meade said funding is easy to come by, but consensus can be more difficult to achieve.
“A lot of the projects that we have, they don’t die due to lack of funding,” Meade said. “They die due to lack of consensus.”
Meade said that without consensus, major infrastructure projects are delayed or become more costly with time. He gave an example of a mayor in El Paso who was against a project, which led to a three-year delay and a 1015% increased cost.
Meade also highlighted the need for continuous planning and advanced preparation as he said shovel-ready projects are more successful in securing funding.
As Texas continues to attract new residents and businesses, Meade emphasized that the state’s success will depend on thoughtful collaboration, long-term planning and unified decision-making.
