Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

AUSTIN, Texas — Federal stimulus money is rolling toward Texas highways: State transportation commissioners are set to approve major road projects this week to be paid for with $1.2 billion from the funds.

Once legislators complained that the commission was moving too quickly and that they didn't have enough time to provide input, the commissioners put off their decision a week. They will gather in a special meeting Thursday to approve stimulus money projects throughout the state.

"I just want you to know that no good deed will go unpunished," joked Rep. Joe Pickett, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, when he appeared before the commissioners last week. "We will not be happy with whatever you finally decide."

Texas is getting $2.25 billion in transportation stimulus package money. And while that is a big chunk of cash, transportation officials say the state's needs are far greater. Recently, a prominent citizens' committee outlined what it saw as $313 billion in road and bridge work necessary for Texas before 2030.

Republican Gov. Rick Perry is a critic of federal stimulus spending, but he also champions road building to deal with the state's growth and traffic congestion. His appointed transportation commissioners will now have the chance to spring into action and use the federal money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Of the $2.25 billion Texas is getting, local transportation authorities get to decide how to spend $500 million of it. For the state's share, $500 million has been approved already for road and bridge maintenance. The $1.2 billion in spending for consideration this week is for major road projects.

Among the projects under consideration are ones that would widen part of Interstate 35 in Bell County; construct a new interchange at U.S. Highway 281 and Loop 1604 in San Antonio; make improvements along U.S. 281 and U.S. 59 in the Pharr and Corpus Christi area; and construct an interchange at Interstate 10 and Loop 375 in El Paso.

Texas Transportation Department spokesman Chris Lippincott said the projects are being chosen based on safety, congestion relief and economic development. The projects are expected to lead to about 23,000 direct jobs, agency officials said. Among the goals were to get the money flowing to many parts of the state, to choose a wide range of projects and to select projects with lasting impact, they said.

The economic stimulus law requires that some projects get off the ground within 120 days. Others have up to a year. Transportation department officials say they are focusing on "shovel ready" projects that will meet the requirements of the federal money to put people to work soon.

Agency officials said they identified more than 1,500 Texas projects totaling $13 billion that would meet the federal requirements.

Not everyone was happy with the narrowed list of projects presented last week.

Laredo state legislators and local officials said they were disappointed that an important project in their area wasn't under consideration. The road would parallel U.S. Highway 83 and route some traffic outside of Laredo before reconnecting with the highway.

Rep. Richard Raymond, D-Laredo, said his Texas-Mexico border community contributes to interstate commerce and in doing so handles a large volume of traffic.

"We take a beating locally," he said. "A lot of those 18-wheelers go through our neighborhoods."

It's likely not the last that transportation commissioners will hear from lawmakers.

If President Barack Obama's administration had made sure the stimulus money was delivered before or after the 140-day Texas legislative session, which ends June 1, state legislators wouldn't have been so in the mix, said Pickett, an El Paso Democrat.

"We're here," he said. "We're going to tell you how good you're doing."