Skip to main content

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

  • European road deaths reduced but more to be done
    February 15, 2012
    While the EU target of reducing deaths by 50% has resulted in impressive figures, there is still more to be done as Patrick Smith reports. The latest statistics show European Union (EU) efforts to reduce road deaths by 50% have met with considerable success. As EU members look to the new European Action Programme for the period 2010 to 2020
  • Roads for the future
    July 31, 2012
    Speakers at the 3rd European Road Congress looked at ways of preparing infrastructure to cater for future demands. Patrick Smith reports Road accidents in Europe can be reduced substantially, but vehicles will have to make more use of technology, and they will cost more. The problems will not be made any easier with the knowledge that road transport is set to double between 2040 and 2050. These were just some of the forecasts made at the 3rd European Road Congress, held in Brussels, Belgium, a key road sect
  • Ammann’s green approach to construction
    May 15, 2025
    The Ammann Group is investing heavily in new technologies that will help reduce the environmental impact of construction and to achieve net zero. Hans-Christian Schneider is CEO of the Ammann Group and says that focussing on making asphalt production a greener process is a key driver in reducing climate change emissions.
  • Funding road research in Kenya as infrastructure development grows
    August 14, 2017
    The demand for road construction material research and testing services in Kenya is expected to soar. The East African country is going through a construction boom, despite policy and financial challenges facing public institutions overseeing the research and testing operations in the transport industry. “Kenya is going through a construction boom and so is the demand for construction material testing services,” said Juma Ali Madzitsa, Geotechnical Lab Supervisor at SGS Kenya, a subsidiary of Swiss based in