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"The Texas Department of Transportation’s new executive director, Joe Weber, says it’s going to take more than new roads to keep Texans traveling smoothly if population growth estimates prove true." The way Joe Weber sees it, the state transportation agency needs to increase financing for commuter and freight projects if it is to build the infrastructure that Texans are going to want and need in the decades ahead. “That’s going to be hard to do,” Weber said. “That’s a cultural change.” This is the first time in more than 40 years that I have heard TXDOT's executive director acknowledge that more highways are not the only answer to the state's transportation needs. Needless to say he has his work cut out for him. Changing how Texans think about transportation will be challenging. Encouragingly, Weber sees potentially different solutions to meet the challenges, from better roads to improved rail to smart cars.   TXDOT has shifted away from an exclusive emphasis on highways. It has been funding a portion of the Heartland Flyer's loses since it began running.  Also, unknown to many Texans, TXDOT owns the South Orient Rail Line that runs from Presidio, on the Mexican border, to San Angelo Junction. Only the portion from Alpine Junction to San Angelo junction is operational due to the international bridge at Presidio being out of service. Passing through Fort Stockton last month, I noticed hundreds of cars spotted in the yard.  Apparently the railroad is hauling a lot of sand to use in fracking, which is the major driver in the resurgence of the west Texas oil fields. Fort Stockton is near the southern edge of the Permian Basin oil fields.
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