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Forts to Ports: Interstate 14 to provide much-needed upgrade to military deployment routes in Texas
Beaumont Business Journal | By Kevin King | Link

An amendment to H.R. 22, the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015, authorizing a new interstate that will improve military deployment routes from Army forts in Texas to the state’s ports was signed into law by President Barack Obama Friday, Dec. 4.

The amendment, part of a five-year, $305 billion highway bill, designates the Central Texas corridor, an area that will serve as a critical passageway between military facilities, metropolitan areas, and Texas' existing and future interstate system as the first segment of Interstate 14 (I-14), which is named after the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The amendment was authored by U.S. Rep. Brian  Babin for TX-36, which includes Orange County.

“There is a reason this interstate already has a nickname, ‘Forts to Ports,' as it provides either direct or very close access for some of our country's most strategically important military and shipping assets,” said Rep. Babin. “One of the main original purposes of the Eisenhower Interstate system was to help connect our forts and other military installations. Having efficient and reliable means to transport equipment and troops — in times of peace or crisis — is one of the most important steps we can take to secure the homeland.  General Eisenhower knew that, President Eisenhower acted on it, and we want to continue that today with this new interstate.”

Former Polk County Judge John Thompson, who serves as Chairman of the I-14/US 190 Gulf Coast Strategic Highway Coalition, added, “This amendment is great news for the country because the highway improvements will facilitate the movement of military equipment from our military bases to our ports, and great news for economic development for our communities along the route!”

In addition to connecting military forts to ports, Interstate 14 would also allow another Hurricane evacuation route and another east-west route for commerce, said Gary Bushell, consultant to the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway Coalition, a coalition formed in 2001 to promote improvements in deployment routes for Army installations near the Gulf Coast.

“It connects to three more south interstates, which provides more evacuation routes from the Gulf Coast and connectivity across the state,” Bushell said. “This provides an alternative to I-10 and I-20 in moving goods east and west across the state.”

Now that the bill has been approved, TxDOT will begin an engineering study for I-14, Bushell said.

The proposed route

Interstate 14 would begin around Fort Hood in Copperas Cove near Fort Hood, and stretch 35 miles to I-35 in Belton, according to Bushell. It would connect US-190 to I-10, which runs all the way out to El Paso, where Fort Bliss is located. Running east, I-14 would run to Woodville, where it would intersect with US-69, which runs down to the Port of Beaumont, the busiest military port in the world for processing U.S. military equipment. I-14 would basically incorporate the existing US-190 highway between Copperas Cove and Woodville and bring it to interstate standards. Where development along the current roadway makes that impossible, TxDOT will design and build a relief route with heavy input from the local community. I-14 will have two main lanes in each direction with two lane frontage roads on either side of the main lanes.

“What we have once we get it built is linkage from Fort Hood over to US-69, which comes down to the Port of Beaumont. It would be very helpful in terms of deployment,” Bushell said. “We will not be endeavoring to bring US-69 to interstate standard, but we do want to get it to four lanes all the way to … Beaumont. We have similar linkage to the Port of Corpus Christi, which is the other strategic deployment port in the state of Texas.”

Interstate 14 would also connect to Corpus Christi, most likely at I-37, which runs down to the Port of Corpus Christi, another crucial port, where the DOD picks up equipment for U.S. Army combat divisions and support forces, Bushell said, and to I-35, I-45, and I-69, another new highway that will connect Mexico to Canada and, in Texas, run from Texarkana (where the Red River Army Depot is located) down to the valley, splitting into three branches so it can serve the border areas near Laredo and near Brownsville.

Although future plans for Interstate 14 include running into Louisiana and all the way east to Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, Bushell said he is more optimistic about the Interstate becoming a reality in Texas at this point.

“Unless you are a state like Texas that has been real proactive and passed things like Proposition 1 and Proposition 7 … the states are really starved for money,” he said, adding that the federal bill doesn’t include increased funding for the I-14 project, but that funding remains static. “Right now we want to get it built in Texas. The passing of Prop 1 and Prop 7 is really encouraging. It encourages TxDOT. … TxDOT now knows with a fair amount of certainty that it is going to get $2.5 billion a year with Proposition 7. We’re very fortunate that the (Texas) legislators and the voters have been as supportive as they have of dedicating some of the state’s income both with oil and gas production with Prop 1 and with general sales tax and vehicle sales tax with Prop 7.

“As soon as (the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act) is passed, we can start working with TxDOT and with the National Association of Transportation. But, we could go to work on it right away.”

Why is I-14 so important to military deployment?

The Army is heavily dependent upon commercial railroad transportation to move equipment, and I-14 is needed in part because of added stress on the railroads caused by the shale oil boom, Bushell said.

“Having to provide capacity for all the oil moving across the country, the railroads are busy,” he said. “They need alternatives and they may need (them) at short notice.”

This stress coupled with an increase in deployment training activity creates a need for the ability to move convoys by road versus rail, Bushell said.

And approving funding to improve transportation routes needed for U.S. military deployment should be a no-brainer.

"The Department of Defense relies on a robust system of rail, highway, air and
seaports to enable our deployment and redeployment to and from the United
States in order to achieve our national strategic objectives abroad,” said Lt. Col. Brad Bane, commander of the 842nd Transportation Battalion, which operates out of the Port of Beaumont. “Any improvements to our infrastructure will assist in better achieving these objectives."

Fort Hood is the largest active duty armored post in the United States Armed Services, according to the U.S. Army. Fort Hood covers a total of 340-square miles and supports multiple units, a corps headquarters and a robust mobilization mission. Fort Hood also trains and supports many smaller units and organizations vital to defense.

John Roby, director of corporate affairs for the Port of Beaumont, said existing routes between Fort Hood and the Port of Beaumont definitely need improvement.

“The port has direct links by rail to all major military installations, which is important for long-term large deployments,” Roby said. “However, it is important to also have safe, economical and efficient highway links between the bases and the port. The current highway routes to Fort Hood are not up to Interstate Highway standards,” Roby said. “These routes are on secondary roads and pass through many rural areas and small towns. Interstate 14 is designed to provide fast, efficient highway access between the port and major military installations in the Southwest.”

Although Bushell said Louisiana state funding is limited, he is currently in discussion with state officials about connecting I-14 to Fort Polk in Leesville, which Roby agreed would drastically improve military deployment routes from the fort to the Port of Beaumont.

“Fort Polk houses the nation's premier combat training center and is also home to the 3rd Brigade/10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk's lone Brigade Combat Team,” Roby said. “The installation recently survived almost intact in the Army's force reduction plan, which is a testament to its strategic importance. Connectivity to the Port of Beaumont is very important to Fort Polk. While the base has a direct rail link to the port, its location just 100 miles away from Beaumont reinforces the importance of a fast, efficient highway connection. Shipping military equipment between the port and fort is fastest by truck or convoy, which gives the military planners the ability to respond quickly to world affairs in the event of a crisis.”

Having the capability of carrying out a swift military response seems to be even more important following recent attacks by ISIS on France and San Bernardino.