The Texas Transportation Commission approved the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT’s) 10-year transportation plan that includes more than $77 billion dedicated to improving safety, addressing congestion and connectivity and preserving roadways for Texas drivers.

The TxDOT Austin District received $87,220,000 in priority ranking tier one funding to widen from two-lane undivided to four-lane divided highways on U.S. Hwy. 281 from the Comal County line to U.S. Hwy. 290.

Additional Blanco projects include a tier-two project of $6.6 million to construct continuous left turn lane with shoulders on SH 71 from the Burnet/Blanco county line to the Blanco/Travis county line.

According to the commission, the 10-year plan, called the 2020 Unified Transportation Program (UTP), contains more than $4 billion for safety improvements, including an extra $600 million for the next two years to help accelerate even more safety measures in an effort to reduce crashes and eliminate fatalities from our roadways by 2050.

The commission also approved more than $600 million to fund transportation improvements in the state’s bustling Permian Basin energy sector is included in the plan to add to other funding in the energy sector. Projects focus on safety, connectivity, congestion relief, as well improving mobility at high-volume intersections. Funding also will pay for pavement strengthening for roadways with high truck volumes and weights.

Many of the projects in this plan are roadway segments identified on Texas’ 100 Most Congested Roadways list. The projects will be delivered with funding from legislative and voter-approved initiatives that allocate portions of oil and gas taxes, sales taxes and other money to the state highway fund.

Projects are selected based on how effective the projects are in addressing areas such as pavement condition, safety, capacity and rural connectivity. Projects are chosen collaboratively by TxDOT and local transportation leaders with ultimate approval by the Texas Transportation Commission with input from the public. In addition to highway projects, the UTP address public transportation, maritime, aviation and rail.