Voters initially approved the bond referendum in 2007, directing the Legislature to authorize up to $5 billion in general obligation bonds for transportation projects.

Senate Bill 1 allows $2 billion in Proposition 12 bond proceeds be spent on non-toll highway projects, with $1 billion expended by September 2011. Criteria for selecting projects included corridors of statewide significance based on traffic density and crash rates; rehabilitation and safety projects based on pavement improvement and safety improvement; and mobility projects based on factors including delay reduction.

Included in the approved list are six projects, valued at an estimated $1 billion, to expand IH-35 from a four- to a six-lane highway between San Antonio and Hillsboro.

Other projects include the reconstruction of Houston’s $178-million IH-610/U.S. 290 Interchange; $100 million to expand IH-45 in Houston; a 4-mi, $80-million expansion of Loop 375 in El Paso; and $130 million to San Antonio’s Wurzbach Parkway to complete a 4.8-mi reconstruction and expand from a four-to a six-lane divided roadway.