THE NAFTA SUPERHIGHWAY – THE ROAD TO A NORTH AMERICAN UNION

On January 15, 2008, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) formally began a massive public reeducation and public relations effort in an aggressive and expensive attempt to stem the chorus of objections voiced thus far over the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC).

The Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) is a multi-lane highway system that would include toll roads for automobiles and rail lines and would run parallel to the eastern side of Interstate Highway 35 in Texas. Two corridors are being proposed, one parallel to I-35, named TTC 35, and another that will run from Northeast Texas down to Mexico, referred to as TTC 69.

 

Photo Credit: Texas Department of Transportation

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The Trans-Texas Corridor is the first leg of a new superhighway which will extend from Mexico to Canada so that the North American Free Trade Agreement, better known as NAFTA, can function even more “smoothly” to remove American jobs as if NAFTA hasn’t done enough already. The highway will take about half a million acres of Texas out of agricultural production – and according to opponents hasten the advent of a North American Union.

How does anything like the Trans-Texas Corridor impact us here in good, old Indiana? Think Interstate 69 from Indy to Evansville. The route is an extension of the Interstate which already runs through northeast Indiana. The website of the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration has the following description of plans for the I-69 corridor:

Corridor from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, through Port Huron, Michigan, southwesterly along Interstate Route 69 through Indianapolis, Indiana, through Evansville, Indiana, Memphis, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Shreveport / Bossier Louisiana, to Houston, Texas, and to the Lower Rio Grande Valley at the border between the United States and Mexico, as follows:

1. 1. In Michigan, the corridor shall be from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, southwesterly along Interstate Route 94 to the Ambassador Bridge interchange in Detroit, Michigan.
   2. In Michigan and Illinois, the corridor shall be from Windsor, Ontario, Canada, through Detroit, Michigan, westerly along Interstate Route 94 to Chicago, Illinois.
   3. In Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana, the Corridor shall–
      1. follow the alignment generally identified in the Corridor 18 Special Issues Study Final Report; and
      2. include a connection between the Corridor east of Wilmar, Arkansas, and west of Monticello, Arkansas, to Pine Bluff, Arkansas
   4. In the Lower Rio Grande Valley, the Corridor shall-
      1. include United States Route 77 from the Rio Grande River to Interstate Route 37 at Corpus Christi, Texas, and then to Victoria, Texas, via United States Route 77; [I-69 East]
      2. include United States Route 281 from the Rio Grande River to Interstate Route 37 and then to Victoria, Texas, via United States Route 59; [I-69 Central] and
      3. include the Corpus Christi North-side Highway and Rail Corridor from the existing intersection of United States Route 77 and Interstate Route 37 to United States Route 181, including FM511 from United States Route 77 to the Port of Brownsville.

 

Photo Credit: Smokescreendesign.com

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Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP):

The SPP is a Bush White House-led initiative among the United States and the two nations it borders – Canada and Mexico. The “goals” are to increase security and to enhance prosperity among the three countries through greater cooperation. The SPP is based on the principle that our prosperity is dependent on our security and recognizes that our three great nations share a belief in freedom, economic opportunity, and strong democratic institutions.

The SPP outlines a comprehensive agenda for cooperation among our three countries while respecting the sovereignty and unique cultural heritage of each nation. The SPP provides a vehicle by which the United States, Canada, and Mexico can identify and resolve unnecessary obstacles to trade, and it provides a means to improve our response to emergencies and increase security, thus benefiting and protecting Americans.

The SPP is short for dumping on the American people again by the Bush Administration. Unnecessary obstacles to trade can be read to mean more profit for the large corporations as they whiz the jobs out of the United States via the superhighway. And, you can almost hear the hum of the truck traffic from Mexico bringing in cheap goods produced in a country ridden by poverty and lax on environmental standards as well as worker standards.

The only ones who will benefit from this NAFTA Superhighway are the corporate powers that have their hands in Bush’s pocket and their cash in Bush’s wallet.

 

U.S. 31 CORRIDOR GETS WEBSITE

Anyone who has driven north from Plymouth to South Bend certainly knows the frustration of the slow going and seemingly endless journey. While Plymouth is only 20 miles from South Bend, the stretch itself typically slows the driver down by the various speed zones posted in the 20-mile trip, which runs through LaPaz and Lakeville. To better serve drivers of this route, a new U.S. 31 is being constructed to alleviate the congestion on old 31.

Fifteen miles of the new 20-mile route will lie east of old 31, thus bypassing the slow going through LaPaz and Lakeville. The Corridor is part of Governor Daniels “Major Moves” although 20 miles of new highway seems to be more like a minor moves project. Perhaps the new philosophy from the Governor’s office will be one small step at a time instead of trying to cram projects like the Indiana Commerce Connector down our throats.

To see the complete site go to http://www.us31plysb.com.

The issue of eminent domain will again raise its less-than-beautiful head; however, since this project is one that falls within the generally accepted definition of a public use, the issue may not create the furor that questionable takings trigger. The website carries a link to the U.S. Department of Transportation where the process of taking – or acquisition as labeled by the government site – is explained.

In a case like this, the property owners will not have much recourse unless they fight the project itself. But given the mood of Hoosiers lately, they might just do that.