Officials with the Texas Municipal League and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) have reached agreement on the broad outlines of a program for cities voluntarily to take over the maintenance of some state highways within their city limits. TxDOT had identified nearly 1,900 miles of state highways in 59 urban areas that are used primarily for local traffic.
Cities that voluntarily agree to take over ownership and maintenance of a state highway will gain more control over improvements to the road while the state will save money on maintenance costs. As an incentive to cities, TxDOT has agreed to use up to $100 million from its cost savings, on a first come/first served basis to pay for transportation projects within the cities that participate in the program.
The full text of the MOU is available on the TML website at http://www.tml.org/p/TurnbackMOU.TxDOT.TML.TEMPO.pdf.