The Texas Transportation Commission in February approved $460,000 in Federal and state grant funding, earmarked for planned airport improvements that includes constructing pavement and lighting improvements. The project costs are funded through San Augustine County and TxDOT’s Aviation Facilities Grant Program, which preserves and improves the state’s general aviation system.

“San Augustine County is deeply grateful to TxDOT Aviation, KSA Engineering, Inc. and Drewery Construction Co., Inc. for their extraordinary efforts on behalf of our airport project,” said San Augustine County Judge Samye Johnson. “The 400-foot extension of our runway, asphalt resurfacing and expansion of our aprons will provide us with new options and opportunities for our facility. We realize we have an A-plus team and appreciate their excellence. We look forward to opening our ‘better than new facility’ by the first of the year.”

In 2017, TxDOT expects to provide approximately $60 million in funding for planning, constructing and maintaining community airports statewide. There are 275 community airports in Texas currently eligible for the funding. In addition, community airports account for more than three million flight hours per year in arrivals and departures, providing aircraft facilities for agricultural, medical, business and commuter use.

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the Texas House recently released the first round of interim charges to address the devastation many Texas communities are facing. While the state has taken a number of actions to help provide immediate assistance, the Legislature will most certainly have a substantial role to play in the recovery efforts. Furthermore, we must do all we can at the state level to examine how we confront natural disasters, and make certain that our efforts and resources are utilized in both a responsible and effective manner. In the months to follow, various committees will convene to listen to public input, examine solutions, and recommend action that the House should take in the upcoming session to ensure the safety and stability of those areas most affected by this destructive disaster. As such, I want to use this column to highlight two committees I will serve on, and provide some insight as to what these committees will seek to accomplish. . .

Appropriations

The House Committee on Appropriations has been tasked with examining the use of state and federal funds by state agencies responding to the effects of Harvey and identifying opportunities to maximize the use of these funds to reduce the impact of future natural disasters. The responsible use of federal funds is crucial to the recovery process, as it will help reduce the financial responsibility of the state. Carefully managing federal funds not only allows us to continue focusing our limited resources on the fundamental services provided by the state, but also provides an opportunity to utilize additional dollars to invest in prevention. Further, this committee will examine opportunities for state investment in infrastructure projects that might help reduce the devastation that could ensue from future disasters.

As a third-term member of the House Appropriations Committee, I am confident in this committee’s ability to produce thoughtful and creative solutions to the most difficult challenges. In the months to follow, I look forward to working with my colleagues on a solutions-based approach towards recovery.

Natural Resources

The House Committee on Natural Resources has been charged with examining possible solutions to the extraordinary flooding that was experienced in so many areas of our state. In the next several weeks, we will have our first committee meeting to discuss the role of regional entities in developing projects to control flooding, both through new infrastructure and enhancing existing assets. Additionally, the committee will discuss flood mitigation efforts that would reduce the impact of future flood events and strategies to fund those efforts. Finally, the committee has been tasked with examining dams and reservoir operations during such events, and the coordination efforts between state and local emergency management officials.

While we certainly have our work cut out for us, I’m pleased that the Texas House has taken such an immediate and proactive approach towards helping our fellow Texans, whose lives have been upended by this tragic natural disaster. Rest assured that as we discuss and deliberate possible solutions, our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with all those affected, and with the brave men and women who have answered the call for help within our coastal region.

Reminders

The mobile office is on the road in September and looks forward to seeing you around the district. Here’s this month’s schedule: September 20th from 9:00am-11:00am at the Houston County Courthouse Annex in Crockett and from 1:30pm-3:30pm at the Trinity County Courthouse in Groveton; and September 27th from 9:00am-11:00am at the San Augustine County Courthouse in San Augustine.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact our office if we can help you in any way. Our district office may be reached at (936) 634-2762, or you can call my Capitol office at (512) 463-0508.

If adversity leads to greatness, Texas will rise to even greater heights than ever before.

When the rains of Hurricane Harvey began falling in East Texas on August 25, signs of flooding could already be seen in neighboring counties to the south. The rising waters were enough to make thousands flee their homes and travel north. Lufkin area hotels filled quickly and Nacogdoches opened an evacuation center where those fleeing the storm’s wrath could take refuge.

Citizens and volunteers in our nine-county Lufkin District rolled up their sleeves and went to work. Churches began filling trailers with much-needed supplies and city entities and state agencies began coordinating volunteers and committing employees to help.

Many didn’t think twice about hooking up their bass boats and heading south into dangerous flood waters, while trucks and trailers loaded with food and water made their way to delivery points, all in an attempt to help those who were literally drowning.

I have never been more proud to be a TxDOT employee than when those update calls began days before Harvey’s arrival, long before we knew where it would make landfall. We listened intently to district and division leaders report on how they were activating the hurricane response plan put in place long before we knew there was a Harvey.

We listened as National Weather Service experts told us what to expect, and then we did what we are trained to do. TxDOT executed a plan of action. Men and women went to work all across the state. It was evident through the careful, deliberate actions that were smoothly and accurately executed that we were well prepared to respond in an organized, effective way.

The Lufkin District began sent employees to counties along the Gulf. When it was safe enough to begin work, the TxDOT trucks started rolling – repairing signs, roads, traffic signals, bridges, washed out roadways and monitoring rising water. That work even included helping some who were stranded in flood waters.

Statewide, about 2,200 employees and 1,800 pieces of equipment were deployed to the flood ravaged areas of south and southeast Texas to assist those districts whose employees, many of them displaced from their own homes and families, were also working.

The drivetexas.org website, our go-to site for statewide road conditions, received more than five million visits once the rain began. I have seen many photos of flooded areas and in most of them, a TxDOT truck or employee can be seen nearby either monitoring the water or working in some capacity to help get a roadway open.

In East Texas, Harvey left a lasting footprint with flooding and damaged roads. Once the storm passed another crisis occurred on SL 287 East in Lufkin that no one could have anticipated. The five day rain event was too much for a new layer of seal coat that loosened and became a sticky mess. Our crews worked around the clock and then split into shifts in order to get two lanes cleared and reopened within 24 hours.

It’s impossible to tell the many stories of sacrifice, calculate the missed hours of sleep or describe the working conditions that not only our employees but also many first responders and volunteers experienced during the storm and the days that have followed.

Through all of the adversity and challenges that have come our way because of Hurricane Harvey, the people of Texas have proven:

That Texans never give up, no matter how difficult, they will find a way through it;
That the true spirit of kindness and compassion shown for those in distress proves we really are our brother’s keeper;
That the citizens of Texas expect much from TxDOT and TxDOT delivers.

No matter how Hurricane Harvey affected our lives or the landscape around us, the commitment of TxDOT employees remains the same no matter what storms we face – to deliver a great transportation system to Texas that not only provides a safe route to refuge, but one that will truly make us Texas proud and Texas great.