Waller County residents fret about project

By KIMBERLY PIÑA
Chronicle Correspondent

While some Waller County residents worry that private property west of Katy could be taken for the Trans-Texas Corridor, proponents such as West Houston Association president Roger Hord point to a study indicating the highway would bring economic growth.

A recent economic-impact study by Ray Perryman and the Perryman Group of Waco indicates that TTC-69, the corridor segment that would parallel U.S. 59 from northeast Texas through part of Waller County to Mexico, would garner more than $3.2 billion in additional annual state revenue.

The report also projects that TTC-35, the corridor portion that would run from Oklahoma to the Texas/Mexico border, could have a $1.4 trillion economic impact over 25 years.

“I think we have to recognize as a community the potential for new development that would occur in proximity to these major corridors,” said Hord, who is a member of the advisory committee for the project. “(The Trans-Texas Corridor) is a massive visionary project It’s designed to address the growth that we seeing coming.”

The entire project is expected to generate approximately 3.7 million permanent jobs and boost personal income in Texas by $376 billion, according to the report. …more…