One doesn't have to be mired in midday traffic on Interstate 35 or fuming while a 7,000-foot freight train clears a grade crossing to know that Texas' transportation arteries are going from clogged to worse.

Two years ago, the Legislature took one practical step toward relieving the congestion by proposing a "Texas Rail Relocation and Improvement Fund" to help pay for moving freight-rail tracks away from crowded cities, to make getting around safer and more efficient for urban road users and railroad operators.

Texas voters approved this simple and effective remedy in a constitutional amendment election, but there's still one little element missing. The Legislature to date has put no money into the well-intentioned but empty fund — not one dime, even though the Texas Department of Transportation estimates there are at least $17 billion worth of such rail relocations that could benefit the state right now.

Several legislators in the current session are trying to make at least a start at putting money into the fund. Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, has proposed taking $25 million from the $118 million-strong Texas Emissions Reduction Program, citing the air-quality benefits of reducing road and rail congestion. And Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, is seeking a rider in the 2008-09 appropriations bill to put $150 million in general revenue into the relocation fund.

The relocation of the freight-rail lines, most operating at full capacity, would have multiple benefits for road and rail users. Safety would be enhanced by the elimination of hundreds of grade crossings and by moving hazardous-material loads away from densely settled areas. The carrying capacity of the rail lines would be increased by faster track speeds. The environment would be enhanced by the more efficient movement of cars, trucks and trains. And current urban rail routes would become available for road rights-of-way or commuter-rail operations.

The Austin area has a prime candidate for just such a relocation — the Union Pacific's north-south main line through the city, which, if relocated east of Austin, would eliminate troublesome curves, grades and road crossings for the freight operation and make the existing route available for high-speed commuter-rail service. The costs of such a shift would be split between the state relocation fund and the private railroad owner, according to the terms of a 2005 agreement governing public-private relocation projects.

Time in the legislative session is ticking away for pending measures, but financing the Rail Relocation Fund could be accomplished with ease if lawmakers are serious about the clogged state of Texas' roads and railways. With all forms of transportation in Texas' urban heartland swelling in volume daily, solutions such as rail relocation can wait no longer.

Time to put the cash where the voters intended.