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

  • ASEAN Investors’ Brief: A Dynamic hub for Road Programs
    August 22, 2016
    If the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) formed a single economic entity, they would represent the 7th largest economy in the world, with an expectation to be the 4th largest by 2050 on current growth patterns. It is a region with much unrealised potential and favourable demographic trends. It also lies at the heart of several regional trade initiatives that will significantly boost infrastructure investments in the region, such as China’s 'One Belt, One Road' programme
    Read More
  • Caterpillar eyes better performance in 2015 amid stormy weather
    May 13, 2015
    Caterpillar vice president Paolo Fellin sums up the past year for the global equipment manufacturer and looks at the increasing importance of telematics and machine control. David Arminas reports from Caterpillar’s Demonstration and Learning Centre in Malaga, southern Spain First the good news. Despite the difficulties, especially of the financial markets, 2014 was “a record year for a lot of things” for global heavy equipment maker Caterpillar.Now the bad news. Hang onto your seats because despite some
    Read More
  • Key expressway route through Hunter Valley
    November 11, 2013
    Australia’s Hunter Valley will benefit from a new high speed expressway, which is currently under construction - Simon Gould reports Located two hours north of Sydney, the Hunter Valley region in New South Wales is one of Australia’s largest producers of coal and wine. With international demand, particularly from Asia, for both continuing to increase, a significant upgrade of infrastructure was required between the region and the port of Newcastle, the world’s largest coal export port. However the strict en
    Read More
  • Brazil launches new transport infrastructure investment plan
    August 30, 2012
    The Brazilian government has announced a new transport infrastructure investment plan involving the concession of motorway operations and modernisation of the railway sector. The private public partnerships are predicted to lead to an investment of US$65.68 billion (BRL 133bn) in the next 25 years, including US$ 39.63 billion (BRL 80bn) to be spent in the first five years of the contract.
    Read More

Highlighted Content