Texarkana Urban Transportation Study
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Texarkana Urban Transportation Study 2015 – 2040 Metropolitan Transportation Plan Covering the cities of Texarkana Arkansas, Texarkana, Texas, Nash, Texas, Wake Village, Texas, and some of the unincorporated parts of Bowie County, Texas and Miller County, Arkansas and the states of Texas and Arkansas. Adopted September 17, 2014 Including revisions for August 29, September 8, and September 17, 2014. This plan is produced in cooperation with the following agencies: United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) This Plan has been funded with federal Metropolitan Planning funds through the Federal Highway Administration and Section 5303 funds through the Federal Transit Administration, and local funding by the State of Arkansas, the State of Texas, and the City of Texarkana, Arkansas. TEXARKANA METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATION The Texarkana Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) makes every effort to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other federal equal opportunity laws and therefore does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, age, national origin, religion or disability, in admission or access to and treatment in MPO programs and activities, as well as the MPO’s hiring or employment practices. Complaints of alleged discrimination and inquiries regarding the MPO’s nondiscrimination policies may be directed to the MPO Director – EEO/DBE (ADA/504/Title VI Coordinator), P.O. Box 1967, Texarkana, TX 75504, (903) 798-3927, or the following email address [email protected]: This report is prepared and published by the Texarkana Metropolitan Planning Organization. Comments or questions regarding the contents of this report should be directed to: Texarkana MPO, 220 Texas Boulevard, Texarkana, Texas 75501, 903.798.3927, [email protected]. The contents of this report reflect the views of the MPO staff and committees that are responsible for the opinions, findings, and conclusions presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department, or the Texas Department of Transportation. i Texarkana MPO Policy Committee The Texarkana Urban Transportation Study Policy Committee is the MPO and is supported by a twenty-three member Technical Committee and the MPO staff. The Policy Committee relies on the Technical Committee and the MPO staff for analysis and recommendations regarding transportation policy options. Texarkana Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Board Members Name Title Representing Laney Harris Chairman TUTS, Board of Directors member City of Texarkana, AR Robert Bunch, Vice Chairman Vice-Chairman, Mayor City of Nash, TX Wayne Smith Mayor City of Texarkana, AR Vacant Board of Directors member City of Texarkana, AR Larry Burgess County Judge Miller County, AR Willie Ray City Board of Directors / Council Member City of Texarkana, TX Tom Whitten County Commissioner Bowie County, TX Todd Lumpkin City Council Member City of Wake Village, TX John A. Whitson City Manager City of Texarkana, TX Kyle Dooley City Engineer City of Texarkana, TX Steve Frisbee, P.E. District 3 Engineer AHTD Paul Simms, P.E. MPO Coordinator AHTD Dennis Beckham, P.E. Director of Transportation Planning & Development TxDOT Robert Ratcliff, P.E. District Engineer TxDOT Ex- Officio Members Hon. Mary Hickerson AR State Representative Hon. James Hickey AR State Senator Hon. Tom Cotton AR U.S. Representative Hon. George Lavender TX State Representative Hon. Kevin Eltife TX State Senator Hon. Ralph Hall TX U.S. Representative Chris Brown Executive Director - Ark-Tex Council of Governments Lawrence Jester, P.E. Carter & Burgess William Runnells, P.E. Runnells Resources Patricia Ditsch Chairman of Property And Facilities -Texarkana Regional Airport Daniel Gray President of Gray’s Jewelers ii Texarkana MPO Technical Committee Name Title Representing Steven Alexander Administrative Officer AHTD-Little Rock Paul Simms MPO Coordinator AHTD-Little Rock Jeremy Thomas Resident Engineer AHTD-Texarkana Vacant ANRC Program Coordinator Arkansas Red River Commission Genevieve Burtchell Regional Development Director Ark-Tex Council of Governments Owetta Walton Public Transportation Manager Ark-Tex Council of Governments Darrin Lafayette Director of Public Works City of Nash, TX Paul Hackleman Director of Public Works City of Texarkana, AR Rick Garner Planning Technician City of Texarkana, AR Mary Beck City Planner City of Texarkana, AR Dusty Henslee Associate Design Engineer City of Texarkana, TX Shirley Jaster Planning Administrator City of Texarkana, TX Mashell Daniel City Engineer City of Texarkana, TX Gary DalPorto ROW Officer FHWA-AR Barbara Maley Environmental and Transportation Planning Coordinator FHWA-TX Stephen Luebbert Airport Director Texarkana Regional Airport Kenny Icenhower Area Engineer TxDOT-Atlanta Rea Donna Jones Planner TxDOT-Atlanta Deanne Simmons Advance Project Development Engineer TxDOT-Atlanta William Parker Council Member Place 1 Wake Village Vacant Miller County Tom Whitten County Commissioner, Precinct 2 Bowie County Ex-Officio Members Christopher Petro MPO Coordinator/Field Representative TxDOT Texarkana MPO Staff Alan Morrison, AICP Study Director Dean Meester Transportation Planner Jo Anne Gray Administrative Assistant iii Table of Contents Chapter 1 – Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 1 What is a Metropolitan Transportation Plan? .................................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of a Metropolitan Transportation Plan................................................................................................................. 1 The Planning Process ............................................................................................................................................................. 1 The Scope of the Planning Process: The Eight Planning Factors ..................................................................................... 1 What is the Metropolitan Planning Organization? ............................................................................................................ 2 What does the MPO do? ........................................................................................................................................................ 3 Geographic Region Covered By the Plan ............................................................................................................................ 3 Useful Terms and Concepts .................................................................................................................................................. 3 Short History and Background of the Texarkana Region ................................................................................................. 4 Development of the Transportation Plan ............................................................................................................................ 5 MPO Activities Supporting Public Involvement and Public Participation .................................................................... 5 Non-Discrimination in Transportation Services ................................................................................................................ 7 MPO Nondiscrimination Policy ........................................................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2 - MPO Regional Demographics ........................................................................................................................... 10 Urban Population Trends .................................................................................................................................................... 12 Housing Data ........................................................................................................................................................................ 21 Income Data .......................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Commuting Data .................................................................................................................................................................. 28 Chapter 3 - The Transportation System of the Texarkana Region ................................................................................... 30 Roadways .............................................................................................................................................................................. 30 Bridges ................................................................................................................................................................................... 33 Public Transportation .........................................................................................................................................................