Home to five of the 13 most populous U.S. cities, Texas has grown by more than 15% over the past 10 years and added more people than any other state in the nation. However, while the Texas Dept. of Transportation (TxDOT) maintains more than 197,000 lane-miles of state roadways and supports more than 54,000 bridges—more than any other state—its massive transportation network has struggled to keep pace with demand.
Each day, the Lone Star State gains about 1,100 people on average, with a majority of Texans living in counties along and east of the busy Interstate 35 corridor. The population is expected to grow from nearly 30 million people today to 47 million by 2050, further straining the state’s already bogged-down system of highways and byways.