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

  • California clean-up causing union commotion
    May 9, 2018
    Roadside crews in California are up in arms over cleaning up an increasing amount of garbage – much of it unhealthy, some of it potentially lethal. US media are reporting that the International Union of Operating Engineers, which represents California state's maintenance workers, filed a grievance accusing the state of subjecting its members to hazardous conditions without proper training or equipment.
    Read More
  • Improving tunneling method selection
    December 11, 2015
    The tunnelling sector remains one of the most active segments of the construction industry worldwide, fuelling demand for equipment However, there have been issues with the efficiency of the selection process for the most suitable tunnelling method for a project in the past. With this in mind, the Italian hydraulic breaker manufacturer Indeco has been working on a new algorithm that allows a contractor to optimise the tunnelling method selection. The firm said that this system has been developed becau
    Read More
  • Developments in noise-reducing road surfaces
    February 17, 2012
    Mixtures with special additives are being produced for roads, offering noise reduction and aiding recycling. Patrick Smith reports. Noise-reducing road surfacings have been used in motorway construction for some time. But relatively new are noise-optimised surfacings used on roads in towns that do not follow a standard concept.Road trials with these materials have taken place in Germany since 2007 and have been prioritised due to the European Union Guidelines on the Assessment and Management of Environmenta
    Read More
  • Africa’s road builders need a reliable supply of good-quality bitumen
    May 8, 2015
    Crying out for consistency Getting hold of the right product, or any product at all, is often the challenge, as delegates to the Argus Africa Bitumen conference heard Many parts of Africa have ambitious road building plans for the next few decades. But clients and contractors are facing problems with the quality and supply of bitumen, delegates at the Argus Africa Bitumen conference were told. If there was one overriding message to come out of the conference, held in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania in Feb
    Read More

Highlighted Content