I am very pleased to report that the Katy Freeway reconstruction will be completed in record time, and we can expect to see it finished and the ribbon cut in late October.

My first promise to you in 2001 when I was sworn in as your new Congressman was to speed up the Katy Freeway reconstruction. In 2001, I was told the project would take 10-15 years, and was short $500 million in funding. The lengthy construction schedule and cash shortfall were completely unacceptable, so together with TxDOT and the Harris County Commissioners’ Court, we came up with a cost-effective plan to pay for the reconstruction. I won the federal permit for I-10 as the nation’s first Interstate highway with locally operated toll lanes, and our local toll dollars have paid the balance of the expansion. Construction began in June 2003, and just over 5 years later, the largest, most expensive freeway reconstruction in Texas history is nearly finished. As a dedicated fiscal conservative, I am also pleased to report that I was able to spearhead the freeway reconstruction without designating any new federal dollars for the project, even though I serve on the Appropriations Committee.

We are closer than ever to completing work on this monumental project, and the last major component of the project involves the permanent closure of the Katy Freeway HOV lane on Monday, September 15 to be replaced in late October by four high occupancy-toll lanes. At my request, TxDOT removed the concrete box canyon down the center of the freeway, and replaced the HOV lane with four EZ Tag toll lanes separated from the main lanes by white candlesticks. The Texas Department of Transportation and the Harris County Toll Road Authority are working hard to make sure the final steps move as quickly as possible.