Interstate 14 to Midland-Odessa becomes law - Odessa American
In August, the United States Senate passed an amendment to redesignate the western leg of Interstate 14 to include Midland-Odessa and San Angelo, a press release from the Midland-Odessa Transportation Alliance detailed.
That same amendment also reportedly extended the eastern segment of I-14 across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, and creates a number of economic and logistics opportunities for all of us along the route.
The bi-partisan amendment was offered by Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ralph Warnock (D-Georgia) and was popular among members, the Senate voted to suspend the 60-vote rule and passed the measure by a unanimous voice vote of the United States Senate.
MOTRAN Chairman Trey Crutcher noted in the press release, “We cannot say enough how much we appreciate Senator Cruz for his belief and support for the Permian Basin.”
Earlier this month, the House reportedly passed the same measure and earlier this week, the bill was signed into law.
In 2016, MOTRAN began work with congressional and local leaders to look at a new segment of the 2015 designation of Interstate 14, that would save money, serve more people, and provide more benefit to freight traffic by brining the route through San Angelo, Midland, and Odessa.
In December of that year, Congressmen Mike Conaway and Brian Babin filed HR 6429, the press release stated. Those efforts and hard work over the last five years paid off in 2021.
I-14 MAKES ECONOMIC SENSE
Whether it is the energy or agriculture sector, I-14 connects the economies and markets that are actually conducting commerce. The improved access to Gulf Coat ports, as well as, the east coast and ability to transport natural gas to European markets is great for the energy industry in the Permian Basin, but its also great for giving us additional ports to access for consumer goods and gives us lots of different options outside of Long Beach. And again, I-14 matches up on the spheres of influence for the movement of consumer goods.
CREATING THE PERMIAN LOOP
The original designation was along US 190 from Brady to I-10. While the newly designated route through San Angelo, Midland, and Odessa (SH 158, US 87) makes a lot more sense when looking at population, traffic levels, and freight loads for designation to interstate standards, and was ultimately less expensive to convert, the original designation, new western leg to Midland-Odessa, and a subsequent inclusion of an ancillary segment of US 385 creates a sort of Permian Basin Loop.
“While we are not advocating for all of these routes to be interstates, we do believe the ultimate upgrade of these roads will help provide transportation resiliency and redundancy in the Permian,” MOTRAN President James Beauchamp stated in the press release. “Creation of this loop around the central Permian will help create an overall solution as opposed to just individual road improvements. That loop and its contents represent 44% of Texas energy production. The Midland Basin alone represents 20% of US crude production. This type of Permian Basin Loop just makes sense.”
“When you factor in some of the other area improvements like SH 18, SH 302, and US 285 in the Delaware Basin and their connections back to this Permian Basin Loop, we think the future looks bright as far as time and cost savings for industry and safety for our driving public.”
source: https://www.oaoa.com/local-news/interstate-14-to-midland-odessa-becomes-law/
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