WACO, TX — On Thursday, the Waco Metropolitan Planning Organization policy board delayed its decision regarding the Texas Department of Public Transportation funding for the Interstate 35 Waco reconstruction project.
The board will decide next month whether it will recommend TxDOT to use $8 million more from maintenance, or category 2 funds, for the project. The Waco MPO Policy Board already allocated $80 million of Category 2 funds.
"Is it going to mean that a particular roadway is not going to be maintained? No, it doesn't mean that. It means that we may have to wait longer. It means we may have to take a different approach to some maintenance issues," TxDOT spokesman Ken Roberts said.
Initially, TxDOT anticipated the project would cost $312 million. However, the contractor later estimated it will cost $341 million.
According to TxDOT spokesman Ken Roberts, with the proposed cost, the project will go down from five years to three and a half years.
After the Waco Metropolitan Organization votes on March 21, the Transportation Commission will have a final say on how the funds are used.
Regardless of the decision, Roberts said the project will go on as planned.
