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Freight Shuttle Proposed To Relieve I-35 Congestion


Congestion on I-35 is getting worse as more commuters and truck traffic use the interstate. Now, a company out of Dallas is proposing a solution to ship freight over the highway instead of on the highway.

Freight Shuttle International, LLC is proposing to move freight over elevated guide ways on the I-35. The proposal was recently presented to the Capitol Area Metropolitan Planning Organization or CAMPO, which is in charge of distributing federal transportation funds to our region.

John Moman, who is on the Transportation Policy Board for CAMPO, says it makes perfect sense.  “It’s privately funded, privately operated, privately built, all they need is right-of-way acquisition and to build up these columns and roadways,” he says. No decision has been made but Moman says he’d like to see it go to the next step of the planning process.

But others aren’t so sure it would work. Guy Mathews owns Mathews Trucking and says, “I just don’t feel that it can move enough freight to alleviate much of the problem right there on the interstate.” Mathews thinks truck drivers should be using the SH 130 toll road instead, and truckers should get incentives for using it.

There is also a plan to construct a freight shuttle system in Mexico. If the system becomes a reality in Texas, the hope is to connect both systems to transport international freight.

By Lydia Pantazes