Politicians affirm TTC opposition
By BARRY HALVORSON news@leader-news.com

Elected leaders speaking during Monday night's public hearing on the I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor draft environmental impact said they thought the state was doing the right thing by holding the event.

But State Rep. John Zerwas, Precinct 1 Commissioner Mickey Reynolds and Precinct 2 Commissioner Chris King also made sure the crowd of a couple hundred people in the Wharton High School auditorium knew exactly on which side of the issue they stood.

"I think that the preferred route has a potentially devastating impact on Wharton and Waller Counties," Zerwas said in an interview before speaking to the crowd. In speaking for the public record, Zerwas said he hoped TxDOT captured not only the people's words, but their feelings.

Reynolds cited his own longtime involvement with the region's transportation needs, pointing out he's been a member of the I-69 Corridor Committee since its inception. But he said what was once a possible solution has grown to become a "monster" that can't work.

"I can appreciate that TxDOT is trying to plan things 50 years in the future," Reynolds said. "But the plans need to work along the original idea of building something in the foot print of Highway 59. We need a common sense solution."

King has been outspoken in his opposition to I-69/TTC since the outset.

"An environmental impact statement is about trade-offs, that is what defines its merit," he said. "And for Wharton County, this project has no merits."