Interstate Highway in Coryell and Bell counties in Texas, United States
Interstate 14 (I-14[a]), also known as the 14th Amendment Highway, the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway, and the Central Texas Corridor, is an Interstate Highway that is currently located entirely in Central Texas, following US Highway 190 (US 190). The portion of the route that has been constructed and signed to date, the Central Texas Corridor along US 190 west of I-35 was officially designated as I-14 by the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), signed by President Barack Obama on December 14, 2015.
The proposal for the "14th Amendment Highway" has its origins in the 2005 transportation bill, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The route was initially planned to have a western terminus at Natchez, Mississippi (later from I-49 near Alexandria, Louisiana), extending east through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, before ending at Augusta, Georgia, or North Augusta, South Carolina. Advocates of the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway subsequently proposed extending I-14 to I-10 near Fort Stockton and the junction of US 277 and I-10 near Sonora, Texas. The study and planning of I-14 has continued because of support and interest from both Congress and the associated state highway departments. The I-14 corridor, if ultimately constructed, would provide a national strategic link to numerous major military bases and major Gulf and Atlantic coasts ports used for overseas deployments in six states from Texas to South Carolina.
On November 15, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which designated the components of the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway corridor between Brady, Texas (including forks to I-20 in Midland and I-10 in Pecos County, Texas), and Augusta, Georgia, as High Priority Corridors of the National Highway System, forming a future extension of I-14.
Route description
I-14 currently begins just east of Copperas Cove at the US 190 and Business US 190 interchange. From there, it continues eastward concurrently with US 190 for just over 25 miles (40 km) before terminating at I-35 in Belton. Between the termini, I-14/US 190 passes through the western part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan area, passing just south of Fort Cavazos and through Killeen as well as Harker Heights and Nolanville. It currently has 25 interchanges (including at its termini), including State Highway 201 (SH 201) in Fort Hood, SH 195 in Killeen, and Loop 121 in Belton. It runs concurrently with US 190, and its exit numbers are based on that highway's mileage.[citation needed]
History
The highway was proposed in 2005 as the "14th Amendment Highway" without an official Interstate Highway designation, with a western terminus at Natchez, Mississippi, extending east through the states of Mississippi and Alabama, before ending at Augusta, Georgia. The highway was named in honor of the Fourteenth Amendment, as the route would traverse the southern "Black Belt" region that formed the heart of the slave-based plantation economy of the 19th century.
US Representative Charlie Norwood of Georgia suggested the highway could be extended to Austin, Texas, in the west and Grand Strand, South Carolina, in the east.[4] SAFETEA-LU was signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 10, 2005. Congressional advocacy for the legislation spiked following the post-Hurricane Katrina logistics controversies.[5] The act included the 14th Amendment Highway and the 3rd Infantry Division Highway (I-3). The legislation did not provide funding for either highway. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has no funding identified beyond the Phase II studies to support long-range planning, environmental review, or construction which must be initiated at the state or regional level with any further direction from Congress. The western terminus was later changed to I-49 near Alexandria, Louisiana.
The 14th Amendment Highway and the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway concepts continued through active studies to the present as local and state interest began to surface and support in Congress, the FHWA, and, most importantly, in the associated state highway departments, all the key ingredients necessary to successfully justify funding any proposed federal-aid highway project. The FHWA issued its report on the 14th Amendment Highway to Congress in 2011 and made recommendation for further environmental and feasibility substudies; however, little action to fund these studies advanced in Congress after 2011. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) also conducted the US 190/IH-10 Feasibility Study in 2011, which concluded that it was justified to upgrade US 190 to a divided four-lane arterial highway based on traffic projections to 2040, but that upgrading US 190 to a full freeway through Texas was only justified if the 14th Amendment Highway is actually constructed from Louisiana to Georgia.
The I-14 concept became a reality when House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure members Brian Babin and Blake Farenthold authored and introduced the amendment to the 2015 FAST Act that created I-14 that generally follows US 190 in Texas. US Senator John Cornyn of Texas sponsored the amendment in the US Senate. The official Future I-14 designation[6] was approved when the FAST Act was signed into law on December 4, 2015, by President Obama.[7]
TxDOT moved forward with designating I-14 along US 190 from Copperas Cove to I-35 in Belton.[8] The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) originally denied approval of TxDOT's request for the number at their May 24, 2016, meeting of the Special Committee on US Route Numbering, the body responsible for approving designations in the US Numbered and Interstate highway systems.[9] The FHWA and AASHTO subsequently approved the I-14 designation.[10] The Texas Transportation Commission made the I-14 number official on January 26, 2017.[11] The official signage ceremony was held April 22, 2017, in Killeen, Texas, on the Central Texas College campus. More I-14 signs went up over the next few weeks.[12]
On April 11, 2019, US Representative Babin introduced the I-14 'Forts-to-Ports' bill—which could extend I-14 to Odessa—to the US House of Representatives.[13][14][15]
In August 2021, senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Raphael Warnock of Georgia introduced an amendment to the American Jobs Plan that would designate a corridor of I-14 to connect their respective states. The Interstate as envisioned would reach from the Midland–Odessa, Texas, metropolitan area in the west to Augusta, Georgia, in the east.[16] The bipartisan legislation aims to connect multiple military installations, including Fort Cavazos (previously Fort Hood) in Killeen, Texas (already connected); Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas; Fort Johnson (previously Fort Polk) in Leesville, Louisiana;[17] Louisiana National Guard Training Center Pineville (previously Camp Beauregard) in Pineville, Louisiana; Fort Moore (previously Fort Benning) in Columbus, Georgia; Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia; and Fort Eisenhower (previously Fort Gordon) west of Augusta, Georgia.[18] This amendment was included in the final bill approved by the House and Senate and signed by President Joe Biden on November 15, 2021.[19][20]
Future
Existing route
Prior to being designated as I-14, US 190 was expanded from four to six lanes in Killeen, Texas, during a widening project that lasted from 2013 to late 2016. The project was estimated to be completed in 2014 but was delayed by other road expansion projects.[21] Plans to widen the existing route through Harker Heights to the I-35 intersection in Belton from four lanes to six lanes began in April 2018[22][23] and was completed in June 2023.[24] A $140,000 project to put up two new welcome signs in Nolanville was started in May 2023.[25][26]
Proposed extension
The IIJA designates an extended future I-14 corridor that would encompass the original "14th Amendment Highway" and "Gulf Coast Strategic Highway" concepts, including the following designated High Priority Corridors:[27][28][29]
- High Priority Corridor 84, the Central Texas Corridor, including:[30]
- 84(A): Commencing near State Highway Loop 338 (Loop 338) in Odessa, running eastward generally following I-20, connecting to State Highway 158 (SH 158) near Midland, then following SH 158 eastward before following US 87 southeastward, passing San Angelo, and connecting to US 190 near Brady. This northern fork has been designated "I-14 North" (I-14N).
- 84(B): Commencing at the intersection of I-10 and US 190 in Pecos County, following US 190 to Brady. This southern fork has been designated "I-14 South" (I-14S).
- 84(C): Following portions of US 190 eastward, passing near the central Texas cities of Fort Cavazos, Killeen, Belton, Temple, Bryan, College Station, Huntsville, Livingston, Woodville, and Jasper before connecting to SH 63 at the Burr's Ferry Bridge where it becomes Louisiana Highway 8 (LA 8) at the Louisiana border. I-14 will be concurrent with I-45 between Madisonville and Huntsville. This route also includes a loop generally encircling Bryan–College Station designated "I-214". This is currently the only part of the high-priority corridors to include a completed section of I-14.
- 84(D): A new interstate (route number to be determined) following US 83 southward from the vicinity of Eden to I-10 at Junction.
- 84(E): A new interstate (route number to be determined) following US 69 from I-10 in Beaumont north to US 190 near Woodville.
- 84(F): A new interstate (route number to be determined) following US 96 from I-10 in Beaumont north to US 190 near Jasper.
- 84(G): A new interstate (route number to be determined) following US 190, Farm to Market Road 305 (FM 305), and US 385 from I-10 in Pecos County to I-20 at Odessa.
- High Priority Corridor 99, the Central Louisiana Corridor, commencing at the Sabine River bridge where SH 63 becomes LA 8 before following portions of LA 8 to Leesville, then eastward on LA 28, passing near Alexandria, Pineville, Walters, and Archie, to US 84 and US 425 at the Natchez–Vidalia Bridge at Vidalia.
- High Priority Corridor 100, the Central Mississippi Corridor, including:
- 100(A): Commencing at the Natchez–Vidalia Bridge at the Mississippi River and then generally following portions of US 84 passing in the vicinity of Natchez, Brookhaven, Monticello, Prentiss, and Collins, to I-59 near Laurel, and continuing on I-59 north to I-20 before joining I-59 and I-20 to the Alabama state line.
- 100(B): Commencing near Laurel, running south on I-59 to US 98 near Hattiesburg, connecting to US 49 south then following US 49 south to I-10 in the vicinity of Gulfport and following Mississippi Highway 601 (MS 601)/I-310 south until the Mississippi State Port at Gulfport. The corridor overlaps parts of High Priority Corridors 93 (the South Mississippi Corridor) and 94 (the Kosciusko to Gulf Coast corridor).
- High Priority Corridor 101, the Middle Alabama Corridor, including:[31]
- High Priority Corridor 102, the Middle Georgia Corridor, including:
Current progress
Texas
TxDOT is currently in the planning stages of construction on the rest of the route in the state[32] and started requesting public feedback in July 2023 to identify issues and opportunities along the proposed route.[33] Work on I-14N and I-14S in the Permian Basin is expected to require approximately 260 roadway projects, which includes 32 bridges, two interchanges, 89 miles (143 km) of added capacity, 136 miles (219 km) rehabilitated or maintained, and 66 miles (106 km) of new location. Planning for this is currently ongoing and expected to end in February 2024 with the design and work on the system expected to continue for at least a decade.[32] TxDOT's feasibility study on the rest of I-14 started in the Fall of 2021 and is expected to take seven years to complete. Construction in the Bryan–College Station metropolitan area is not expected to begin for another 15–20 years based on information provided by the Bryan/College Station Metropolitan Planning Organization in 2022.[34]
Construction on an extension of I-14 to Temple is expected to begin in 2027[35][36] while a bypass is currently being built around Rogers.[37] A non-Interstate standard bypass was also built around Heidenheimer in the late 2000s. In July 2023, the Parsons Corporation (PSN) announced that it had been selected by TXDOT's Waco District to design the I-14 extension to Rogers as well as improve I-14/US 190/I-35 system interchange.[38][39]
On October 10, 2023, the Bryan division of TXDOT announced that they were launching a study for the I-14 corridor, which will generally follow US 190, from Rogers in Bell County eastward to Huntsville in Walker County. The study will also include the planned I-214 loop in the Bryan-College Station area. Several open houses for public input were announced as well.[40][41][42][43][44][45] Public feedback was also requested by the Brazos County commissioner in November 2023.[46]
Currently, TxDOT and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LaDOTD) are working to replace the two-lane Burr's Ferry Bridge, which marks the eastern and western termini of Texas State Highway 63 (SH 63) and Louisiana Highway 8 (LA 8) respectively, over the Sabine River at the Texas-Louisiana state line. The new bridge will be built to interstate-highway standards about a quarter mile to the south of the existing bridge. The construction of the replacement bridge is expected to start in 2024.[47]
Louisiana
LaDOTD has included I-14 in the state’s transportation plan, with the project as a whole estimated to cost $7 billion. The interstate has been seen as a way to spur growth in the currently declining populations across central Louisiana by providing a major east-west highway through the region. However, the project is unfunded and LaDOTD has made maintaining existing infrastructure a top priority for the time being as they also have a backlog of projects worth more than $18 billion.[47][48]
Georgia
In May 2023, the Columbus city council announced that they had began the process of collecting data and looking into the project that would bring I-14 through the city.[49]
In January 2024, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) concluded a study that deemed that the I-14 project would not have a good return on investment. The report indicated that truck traffic on the route would be significantly less than on other interstates in the state, making it less beneficial since the initial cost estimate for building the freeway is around $5 billion. However, the study was only referring to moving freight through the state and it did not completely rule out building I-14 since some benefits were found. GDOT plans to run corridor studies for the project to further evaluate its feasibility and cost.[50][51]
Exit list
Exit numbers follow US 190's mile markers.
Auxiliary route
I-14 in Texas is proposed to have one auxiliary route, Interstate 214 (I-214), which would serve as a loop for Bryan–College Station.[27]
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