AUSTIN, Texas — People are continuing to move to Texas at an incredibly high rate.
In a new report, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) says the state's population could exceed 40 million by 2050.
While more people and businesses continue to relocate to the Lone Star State, there is a rising need for more transportation options, which has prompted TxDOT to roll out a new statewide plan called Connecting Texas 2050.
By the year 2050, without other options, TxDOT says driving will be the dominant mode of travel in the state. And with worse congestion and traffic delays as the population grows, transit advocates like Adam Greenfield are rallying for a passenger rail.
"We need statewide rail, we need regional rail," Greenfield, the director of advocacy for Safe Streets Austin, said. "Right now, the state is constitutionally restricted to how much it can spend on anything apart from roadways and expanding roadways for cars. That needs to change. If we can change that spending ratio, it will greatly help the economy."
According to Connecting Texas 2050, Texas Central Partners and Amtrak are exploring the possibility of developing high-speed rail between Dallas and Houston, which is estimated to serve nearly six million annual passengers by 2029 and more than 13 million by 2050.
Peter LeCody, the president of Texas Rail Advocates, said bringing a rail system to Texas is still a work in progress.
"We are still taking a lot of baby steps developing both freight and passenger rail plans," LeCody said.
TxDOT has submitted applications to the federal government to advance passenger rail, starting with corridors connecting the so-called "Texas Triangle." But LeCody thinks other measures could be taken, like having the Texas Legislature set aside money in a special fund for passenger rail.
"We have no way right now of competing for any federal rail funds because the state has to put a certain percentage in, whether it's 10%, 20% or 30% like what we do for highways," LeCody said. "And without that, it really puts us behind the 8-ball."
LeCody said it is difficult to put a timeline on these projects since they take years to plan out, but some local officials and transit experts are part of a new passenger rail advisory committee. They explore all the rail options for the state and generally meet the first Monday of each month.
Boomtown is KVUE's series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.