US$2bn repair bill for Texas roads damaged by drilling trucks

Texas has been left with a US$2billion bill to repair its drill damaged roads, according to a senior state transport official. John Barton, deputy executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, said the estimated bill illustrated the toll gas and oil production had taken on the US state's roads. Judge for the DeWitt County in South Texas, Daryl Fowler, believes DeWitt alone will require as much as US$342million to repair or substitute roads stretching 392 miles.
July 6, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Texas has been left with a US$2billion bill to repair its drill damaged roads, according to a senior state transport official.

John Barton, deputy executive director of the 3499 Texas Department of Transportation, said the estimated bill illustrated the toll gas and oil production had taken on the US state's roads.

Judge for the DeWitt County in South Texas, Daryl Fowler, believes DeWitt alone will require as much as US$342million to repair or substitute roads stretching 392 miles. 6127 Pioneer Natural Resources and 6128 BHP Billiton provide financial contributions to the county whenever they drill a new well.

However, Fowler stressed how some firms make no contributions. He is pushing for legislative amendments to assist affected counties cover the costs related to exploiting shale gas. According to executive vice president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, Deb Hastings, the key question is which party should cover those costs.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Texas launches US$414 million project to expand North Tarrant Express
    November 24, 2023
    Texas is launching a US$414 million project to expand part of the North Tarrant Express.
    Read More
  • Bentley’s Be Inspired Awards highlight innovation in software use
    January 6, 2015
    Innovation, from design to on-site execution, is alive and well, thanks to a good helping of software application. David Arminas reports from software developer Bentley’s annual global conference, held this year in London Successful project delivery is increasingly about hard men and women using software to get the job done and this year’s global conference in London by US-based software developer Bentley highlighted some innovative - and startling - examples. As usual, the Year in Infrastructure 2014
    Read More
  • ARTBA requests US president to invest in transportation
    March 5, 2012
    US president Barack Obama has received a highly critical open letter from Pete Ruane, president of the US-based American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). The letter questions the lack of progress in the delivery of a long-term surface transportation bill by the US Government. This bill is now 15 months behind schedule, which has resulted in a knock-on effect for the already struggling US construction sector.
    Read More
  • Nepal plans road infrastructure expansion
    March 12, 2014
    Major road expansion is planned for Nepal, but will face huge challenges due to the country’s geography - Mike Woof reports, with local information from World Highways' Nepal correspondent, Ram Krishna Wagle The tiny, landlocked nation of Nepal lies sandwiched between two of the world’s largest countries, China and India and maintains good relations with both. Politically Nepal has strong links with China, while culturally its ties are close with India and these relationships work both ways. Despite bein
    Read More

Highlighted Content