When Gov. Greg Abbott announced a record $100 billion transportation plan during his State of the State address Thursday, he also thanked state Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, for his leadership in the area.
Watch the speech here.
“Our booming economy and growing population means we must bolster our infrastructure. We began preparing for this over the past decade,” Abbott said. “Tonight, I’m proud to tell you we will soon announce a $100 billion plan to build transportation infrastructure in Texas.
“I want to thank Sen. Nichols and Rep. Canales for their leadership on this issue.”
In a statement issued Thursday night, Canales said he is grateful to work with Abbott and state Sen. Robert Nichols, who is the chair of the Senate Texas Transportation Committee. Canales is chair of the House Texas Transportation Committee.
“This investment in our state and region will help communities continue to address our congestion and safety challenges and keep up with the growing infrastructure demands from our increasing population and economic development,” Canales said. “I am grateful to Sen. Nichols, Gov. Abbott, and the Texas Transportation Commission for working in close collaboration with my office to ensure that our state’s transportation system is ready for future growth.”
During the address, Abbott announced an anticipated record $100 billion Texas Unified Transportation Plan, which is part of the Texas Department of Transportation’s 10-year plan.
The plan is meant to guide the development of statewide transportation work.
Canales said in his statement that while he has served as chair of the House Committee on Transportation, funding for the state’s 10-year plan has increased 125%, from $75 billion to $100 billion.
During the same time, the Rio Grande Valley’s transportation district has seen its funding increase significantly, from $937,808,960 to more than $2.5 billion — a 266% increase.
