Liberty welcomes new Area Engineer

Cory Taylor comes to the Southeast Texas with a simple and important goal: Meet the construction and maintenance needs of Liberty and Chambers Counties with the resources entrusted to him.

It will be a big job.

Houston is expanding eastward. Many people are moving eastward and making their homes in Chambers and Liberty. Subdivisions and businesses are springing up everywhere. With the second phase of the Grand Parkway completed and open to traffic, more and more businesses see this part of Southeast Texas as a great place to expand and live.

Meeting those transportation needs will be a big challenge. However, Taylor is one of those TxDOT employees who is dedicated to tackling problems head-on.

“We have a big letting coming up for the next several years,” said Taylor. “My plan is to continue improving transportation and working with city and county officials as well as Harris County as they move outwards”.

Cory comes to the Beaumont District by way of the Tyler District where he served as Assistant Area Engineer for the Longview Area Office.

After graduating from Texas Tech University in 1993 with a degree in Civil Engineering, Cory joined TxDOT full time working in the Atlanta District. There, he served as an engineering assistant in the Gilmer Area Office.

In 1999, he received his Professional Engineering license and was promoted to Assistant Area Engineer for the Gilmer Office. He transferred to the Longview Area Office in February 2005 until his new assignment in Liberty.

Cory, and his wife Jennifer, have two children; 10 year old Emma and 7 year old Kara. He enjoys camping, hunting, fishing and Golf.

The next time you are in Liberty, make sure to visit the Area Office and say hello not only to Cory, but the rest of the engineering and maintenance staff.

Happy Driving.
Marc S.

FM 92 Expansion

There's been rumblings in Tyler County about a new highway. Maybe we should say extending an existing highway.

FM 92 stretches from Silsbee and dead-ends about two miles north of US 190. For some time, residents have been working toward extending the highway to connect with RR 255 in northern Tyler County. There's been a lot of talk and rumour, but very little action.

So. what's the latest? Yes, there are plans to extend the highway to RR 255. In fact, a consultant has completed the right-of-way maps and is now working to secure the right of entries to the property. This allows them to set the right-of-way markers, or, monuments. These monuments will be used to determine where the highway will go. Once completed, TxDOT will review the maps and send it back to the consultant for any needed changes.

The big question, of course, is "When will it be built?". Good question. The total project, with an estimated cost of about $26 million, has not been funded due primarily to funding problems.

In the meantime, the design work will go on despite the budge crunch. While it's difficult to set a date on when work will begin, at least we can set markers in the ground so we'll be ready when the money does become available.

Happy Driving,
Marc S

Goodbye "Gators"

You see them on the road, the shoulder, and just about everywhere you look. Gators are "alive" and well in Southeast Texas.

We're not talking about the reptile kind, though. The "gators" TxDOT refers to are those large pieces of tire that come off those 18-wheelers and other large trucks. They are a constant source of trouble and irritation for TxDOT and those of you who work hard to miss them on your daily commute. We call them gators because, from the roadside, they resemble alligators. These however, bite us in a different way.

The Beaumont District has just awarded a two-year contract to pick up debris along major highways including portions of I-10, US 69, and SH 73. Crews will pick up large debris including "gators". That means places such as Beaumont, Orange, and Port Arthur will get a good going over for the next couple of years in an effort to remove large debris.

Large debris along highways in our area is a serious problem. This is mostly due to uncovered loads on the way to the dump. That certainly explains why everything from desks to ladders and matteresses show up along the highway. Gators are a different matter. Most of these are from large trucks that do not properly inflated tires, or, have defective tires. When they come off the truck, they pose a serious hazard for motorists. Left laying about, they can cause serious damage to a vehicle.

Our district maintenance crews spend many hours just picking up tires from the road. It takes away our workers from doing other needed duties.

The good news is that the Beaumont District is tackling the problem with a contract which frees up maintenance crews to concentrate on other road issues. The bad news is that all of this is preventable and takes away money that could be used to fill potholes or resurface a roadway.


Safe Driving,
Marc S

Student Driving Test

Here's something to ask your kids before they hit the streets this weekend.

The following quiz was given to a group of high school students. Check out to see how your son or daughter score. In fact, go ahead and take the quiz and see how YOU score.

1. Name the number one killer of young people age 15-19 in the U.S. Answer: Vehicle crashes
Percentage who answered correctly: 78%

2. In Texas, safety belt usage is mandatory for all individuals.
Answer: True
Percentage who answered correctly: 79%

3. Percentage of individuals 16-20 years old who are killed in vehicle crashes because they were not wearing safety belts Answer: Over 50%
Percentage who answered correctly: 62%

4. In a crash, back seat passengers not wearing their safety belts...become human missiles who can critically injure individuals in the front seat. Answer: True
Percentage who answered correctly: 52%

5. If you have a collision at 40 MPH and you're not wearing your safety belt, the impact is comparable to falling from a ___ story building. Answer: 6 Story
Percentage who answered correctly: 53%

6. Drivers 16-20 years of age are ___ likely to be involved in a fatal auto crash than other drivers.
Answer: 3 times
Percentage who answered correctly: 74%

7. Buckling your safety belt, but slipping the shoulder harness behind your body...does not prevent your head from smashing like a pumpkin into the windshield or steering column during a crash. Answer: True
Percentage who answered correctly: 79%

SH 73 repair update

Many motorists are wondering what TxDOT is doing to SH 73 between Port Arthur and Winnie. So, here's the lowdown on what's taking place on the 19-mile stretch of highway.

While some work is taking place in the westbound section of the highway, the project contractor is working mostly in the eastbound lanes. Over the years, the base material has become unstable causing cracking in the travel lanes. While one probably won't notice it on a casual drive, it's still a problem that has to be dealt with before it becomes a major one.

It's very similar to your home foundation. You probably won't notice too much of a problem if there is a crack in your home slab. But let it go for several years and you will have a major problem on your hands. I've yet to run across anyone who would let their home fall into the ground before making the needed repairs.

The first step is to remove the approximately three inches of existing asphalt to get to the base material, or, the highway's foundation. Workers then replace and work approximately a foot of base material. Afterwards, they lay a layer of asphalt on top of the base followed by a final riding surface of oil and rock known as a "seal coat". Seal coat involves shooting a layer of oil and then placing rock on top of the oil. The rock is rolled into place and the rest is broomed off the highway.

While seal coat is not the ideal riding surface in terms of noise, it is cheaper that regular asphalt and lasts just as long.

The question you may be asking is 'Why put seal coat on perfectly good layer of asphalt?". The reason is protection. Since we are only working certain lanes of the highway and not the entire roadway itself. a seal coat will help keep water from getting into the joints between the good section of highway and the portion being repaired. It's extremely important to keep water out of the base material.

A bad foundation makes for a really bad highway.

Look for more seal coating of some highways. Today's transportation money crunch means we have to stretch our dollars to go further than they have in the past. That means more seal coat on roads with lower traffic volumes.

Depending on the weather, the SH 73 project is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Happy Driving.
Marc S

Upcoming Project Locations

Reporter Mike Smith and the Beaumont Enterprise have come up with an easy way to track locations of upcoming construction projects.

Check out the following link: www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/data/MAP_TxDOT_projects_2010.html for an interactive map describing most of the upcoming projects for fiscal year 2010.

Happy Driving,
Marc S

District to build more than $140 million worth of projects in FY 2010

It appears Southeast Texas will be a hotbed of highway construction, at least for the next year or so.

The Beaumont District will spend approximately $146 million on transportation improvements in the eight-county district. This is really good news for the area as Texas (and the rest of the nation) faces some serious transportation funding problems.

The money covers now until August 2010 and will go to a variety of projects including installing cable barrier on I-10, widening some area highways, and repairing some bridges. Some of the money will also go towards rebuilding a section of I-10 in Orange County.

While $146 million sounds like (and is) a lot of money, it's really a small number in terms of what is really needed. To give you an idea of how much it costs to rebuild a highway, the I-10 and SH 12 interchange project in Vidor runs close to $80 million. A couple of those projects and you've just busted the entire year's transportation budget for the whole district.

But, who's complaining. We're happy to have what we have coming to us.