The San Antonio Chamber of Commerce joined the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) last week to celebrate the organization’s 100th anniversary and their 100 years of service to Texans. Those in attendance heard remarks from several speakers, including Mario Jorge, District Engineer for TxDOT’s San Antonio District; Bruce Bugg Jr., Commissioner of the Texas Transportation Commission; Hope Andrade, VIA Board of Trustees Chair; and Kevin Wolf, Alamo Area MPO Executive Committee Vice-Chair and Bexar County Precinct 3 Commissioner.
Originally created in 1917 as the Texas Highway Department and rebranded as the Texas Department of Transportation in 1991, TxDOT has grown to be one of the largest agencies in Texas and has built a robust transportation system. They maintain nearly 80,000 miles of Texas state-maintained roadways and help to connect millions of Texans across the state. TxDOT has been a leader in working to meet the needs of our growing economy and population. Over the past 100 years, we have seen efforts by TxDOT to reduce traffic jams, expand our highways and make our roads safer. With a state population of more than 27 million, these efforts are essential for future economic growth.
With the growing population of our city, the Chamber and TxDOT have projects planned to help reduce congestion on the roads. Any cuts to funding of TxDOT could halt these projects and be detrimental to our city’s economic growth. Supporting TxDOT and the funding of future projects is one of the Chamber’s top legislative priorities. Chamber staff has already begun meeting with key legislators and collaborating with other organizations to prevent any cuts to funding of future projects.
