Residents urge Brazos County to cancel consultant contract, demand independent study and public hearings on East Loop road proposal

Several Brazos County residents told the Commissioners Court on Jan. 21 that the county should halt work on the proposed East Loop road project, cancel the contract with the county consultant and commission an independent study of traffic and road needs.

Chris Barnes, a Brazos County resident of 40 years, told the court the project is flawed because, in his view, it "is proposing a solution and then using studies after the fact to justify that solution." Barnes said he attended a Dec. 3 meeting with county consultant John Polster of ITS and representatives from Quiddity and that Judge Peters and Commissioner Condellera also attended. "His company basically makes a sales pitch to counties, convincing them that he has a solution to their problem, whether they actually have a problem or not," Barnes said, adding that he found similar, almost identical presentations given to other counties.

Barnes and other speakers said Polster and the…