- North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority
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The North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority (NET RMA) is a Regional Mobility Authority covering several counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The NET RMA was created by the Texas Transportation Commission in 2004, originally containing the counties of Smith and Gregg. It was the 5th RMA established in the State of Texas, and is headquartered in Tyler.
Contents
History
The NET RMA was established October 28, 2004, by a unanimous vote from the Texas Transportation Commission, containing two founding counties of Smith and Gregg. In June 2006, the NET RMA became the first RMA in Texas to expand beyond its original county members, adding Cherokee, Harrison, Rusk, and Upshur counties, to bring the total number of member counties to six. In July 2007, the RMA expanded once again, when the board passed a resolution accepting six additional counties. The addition of Bowie, Cass, Panola, Titus, Van Zandt, and Wood counties brought the total membership to 12 counties.
Board of directors
The NET RMA is led by a 19-member Board of Directors with at least one board member representing each member county. The Board is chaired by Jeff Austin, III, who was appointed by Texas Governor Rick Perry in February 2005, as the organization's first Chairman. He was reappointed to a term that will expire February 28, 2010. The board members are appointed by each county's Commissioners' Court. Other Board members include Vice Chairman Linda Ryan Thomas (Gregg County), Treasurer Tab Beall (Smith County), Secretary Dave Spurrier (Gregg County), David Stevenson (Upshur County), John Cloutier (Rusk County), Keith Honey (Gregg County), Gary Halbrooks (Smith County), Jamal Moharer (Smith County), Bill Rowton (Van Zandt County), Robert Murray (Bowie County), Robert Torrans (Bowie County), Barry Hughes (Cherokee County), Celia Boswell (Wood County), Walta Cooke (Panola County), Hudson Old (Titus County), Edward Smith (Harrison County), Rodney Gilstrap (Harrison County), and William Runnels (Cass County). Board members serve staggered two year terms that expire on February 1 of each year. Board members can be reappointed.
Projects
The NET RMA undertakes various projects to meet its goal of enhancing mobility and creating economic opportunity in the northeast Texas Region. Projects the NET RMA may undertake include tolled or non-tolled roadway, passenger or freight rail, airport, intermodal hub, parking garages, pedestrian or bicycle facilities, border crossing station (except in Laredo, TX), automated conveyor belt for movement of freight, air quality improvement initiative, public utility facility, and projects listed in the State Implementation Plan.
Roadways
The first major project of the NET RMA is the East Texas Hourglass, which is a series of toll roads connecting the designed to improve connections and relieve congestion in the cities of Tyler, Longview, and Marshall. The East Texas Hourglass will be built in several phases, including:
- Loop 49 in Tyler, from US 69 north of Lindale to SH 110 southeast of Tyler
- East Loop 49, which will complete the outer loop in Tyler from SH 110 to US 271
- An outer loop in Longview, connecting to Interstate 20
- A connection between the Tyler and Longview outer loops
- An extension to the east of Longview, connecting to US 59 north of Marshall
The first segment of Loop 49, which stretches from US 69 to SH 155, opened in August 2006. The second segment of Loop 49, from US 69 to FM 756 (Paluxy Road) opened in January 2008. Loop 49 features a state-of-the-art all electronic toll collection system that is based on transponder and video tolling. Many cars using Loop 49 have a TxTag , a small, electronic sticker that attaches to a car’s windshield behind the rear-view mirror. When the car drives on toll roads and passes through toll collection points, an electronic transponder located in an overhead toll gantry reads the sticker and automatically deducts the toll from a prepaid TxTag account. If a car does not have a TxTag, then a video camera captures an image of the license plate, and a statement for tolling fees is mailed monthly to the registered owner of the car.
Other roadway projects being planned and/or supported by the NET RMA include:
- Texarkana Outer Loop in Bowie County
- Widening and extending George Richey Road in Gregg County
- Widening SH 149 south of Longview
- Other loops and bypasses to relieve traffic on major highways in the cities of Jacksonville, Henderson, and Texarkana
All roads built by the NET RMA will likely be constructed as toll roads, as funding from the State for construction of new roads becomes increasingly scarce.
Passenger and Freight Rail
Future projects undertaken by the NET RMA may include alternative transportation such as high speed commuter rail. Committees are studying the possibilities of the following:
- Highway and freight rail intermodal hubs
- Commuter rail links between northeast Texas and the Dallas DART system
- Freight rail links to the Port of Houston and Port of Shreveport/Bossier
External links
Categories:- Regional Mobility Authority
- Transportation in Texas
- State highways in Texas
- Toll roads in Texas
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