The Texas Transportation Commission gave unanimous approval Thursday to constructing a loop in western Orange County. During its monthly meeting in Austin, the commission considered authorizing the executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation to proceed with construction of FM 299 and execute a pass-through agreement with Orange County.
The project is known locally as the Vidor Loop. County Judge Brint Carlton said there are still unanswered questions for the county, and how the Commissioners Court will proceed following Thursday’s action in Austin.
As of Friday afternoon, the judge had not heard from the consulting group representing the county on this project. What Carlton does not know is how much money did TxDOT approve for the project, what is the timeline for TxDOT to contribute money to construct the loop, and when does the Transportation Commission expect Orange County to make a decision on the project. “Obviously, those are very important pieces of this puzzle that we would need to know before we can again make a final decision,” Carlton concluded.
The estimated cost to Orange County for the construction project has been said to exceed $50 million. The county could be responsible to back about $20 million over a couple of decades.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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