• David Tewes •
• Originally published September 25, 2009 at 5 p.m., updated September 25, 2009 at 5:40 p.m.

• Texas highway project budget

  The Texas Department of Transportation had $300 million available for highway-related projects.

  The estimated cost of the top 10 projects is about $273 million.

  The difference provides the state with a cushion should bids on some ...

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Texas highway project budget

The Texas Department of Transportation had $300 million available for highway-related projects.

The estimated cost of the top 10 projects is about $273 million.

The difference provides the state with a cushion should bids on some of the projects come in higher than expected.

Two overpasses proposed for northeast Victoria still could become a reality.

"If we get moved up in the rankings, we should know in a few weeks," said Dale Fowler with the Victoria Economic Development Corp. "If we don't get moved up, we should be sitting well to reapply for the next round of this type of program."

The overpasses would be on Zac Lentz Parkway at Salem Road and Mockingbird Lane.

The Salem intersection has been the site of traffic-related deaths.

Mockingbird Lane will serve hundreds of students, parents and employees at the East High School campus scheduled to open in 2010.

Victoria applied for $11.7 million to help pay part of the $27.7 million cost.

The project was ranked 14 on a list where the top 10 are the most likely to get funded.

The Texas Transportation Commission on Thursday authorized the staff to negotiate contracts with the top 10 applicants. But it also authorized contract negotiations with the next four on the list should one of the top 10 projects not materialize.

Victoria school district spokeswoman Diane Boyett said officials there are disappointed funding for the overpasses hasn't been approved.

"The safety of staff, students and parents is critically important," she said. "But we are very hopeful that in the not too distant future, funding will become available for the overpasses."

The city and state worked closely with the district to establish safe traffic patterns around the new school, which will have 1,600 to 1,700 students. If drivers will be patient and cautious, they should be safe, Boyett said.

Randy Bena, area engineer with the Texas Department of Transportation, said Victoria is just four spots away from qualifying for funding.

"There's an outside chance that a project, possibly even more than one project out of a list of 10, might not even happen," he said.

The top 10 projects are so large that if just one comes off the list, it could provide enough funding for all of the next four, he said.

Fowler said the state anticipates receiving another round of money for such projects as overpasses next year. It seems reasonable that if Victoria was 14 on the list this time, it will receive a favorable ranking in the next round, he said.

Bena said the fact that Victoria's project ranked 14 out of 31 applications indicates the state believes the proposal is worthy.

"We feel pretty good if there is another program, we would be in the top projects in the state," he said. "At least the commission and administration took note that this project is a very viable project, that it has very good local support and it has a good funding mechanism."

But all of the applications for a new round of funding would have to be analyzed again and Victoria would not necessarily hold its current ranking, he said.

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