NCTCOG: Alliance Texas Inland Port wins $80M INFRA grant; city officials say local traffic impacts must be studied

Jeff Neal, senior projects manager for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, told the Haslet City Council on Sept. 17 that a project at the Alliance Texas inland port won an $80,000,000 U.S. Department of Transportation INFRA grant and that the award will help fund a roughly $262,000,000 package of roadway and technology improvements.

The project as described to the council includes widening Intermodal Parkway to three lanes in each direction, technology and logistics enhancements aimed at freight operations, and a new connection from State Highway 170 (often called the Direct Connector or Spur 170) that would land in the Intermodal Parkway median and become the third lane in each direction. “The $80,000,000 awarded with the INFRA grant…this project was the only project in Texas to receive that award,” Neal said.

City officials asked what Haslet’s direct financial obligation would be. Neal said the city’s contribution in the revenue matrix developed for the project is zero. Mayor and staff emphasized, however, that the city’s concern is how traffic from the new warehouse development north of Haslet — including an estimated 10,000,000 square feet of warehouse space and thousands of new homes reported on regional exhibits — will affect local streets such as Haslet Parkway and Intermodal Parkway.

Haslet city engineer Mike Anderson told the council his office asked TxDOT and the bridge design team for traffic analyses covering intersections inside Haslet that might be affected by the new intermodal connection. Anderson said the bridge design consultant provided counts near the intermodal area but did not initially study the intersections within Haslet that the city believes may be impacted. He said the city pressed for additional study of those intersections and presented an exhibit showing where it wants traffic impacts analyzed.

Neal outlined the federal timeline constraints the council will face if it seeks to track or coordinate with the grant: the INFRA agreement must be executed by Sept. 30, 2029; construction must start no less than 18 months after obligation; and the INFRA funds must be spent and the project closed out by Sept. 30, 2034.

City officials and staff asked whether the design and funding will cover future road widening where intermodal traffic connects to Haslet’s network. Neal said Intermodal Parkway is planned ultimately as six lanes (three each way) and the Direct Connector ramps are intended to serve as the third lane. He added that technological measures — for example, real-time truck staging and logistics information — are included to reduce unnecessary truck trips on local streets.

Why this matters: the INFRA award brings federal funds to a freight-serving regional project but also raises near-term questions about how traffic generated by development beyond Haslet’s jurisdiction will use Haslet’s roads. City staff said the primary next steps are to press for traffic studies that explicitly include the intersections and corridors inside city limits and to coordinate with TxDOT and regional partners on environmental documentation and project timing.

Next steps identified during the workshop included continued coordination with NCTCOG and TxDOT and requests that design teams expand the study area to analyze Haslet intersections. Neal and city staff said they will return with additional analyses as the federal process and TxDOT design work continue.