Transportation Grid Keeps Texas Midwest Connected
Published Feb 19, 2009
A 16-wheeler idles in the predawn in Runnels County.
Abilene officials have an important ally in Interstate 20.
The highway that spans the state from east to west runs directly through Abilene, providing business and industry with ideal shipping access. U.S. Highways 84 and 277 running north and south, and the Union Pacific Railroad main line that travels east and west enable the region to cover all the bases.
“Our geography allows us to ship in all four directions – our logistics are obviously excellent,” says Gary Robinett, director of marketing and industrial recruitment for the Abilene Industrial Foundation. “Our central location allows us to ship all kinds of products basically anywhere in the U.S.”
Robinett says the city’s proximity has attracted more manufacturing companies in recent years.
Plastics packaging manufacturer PWP Industries moved into a business park next to I-20 and trucks its products all over the country.
“They’ve been in Abilene for two years and have already put on a 125,000-square-foot building expansion,” Robinett says.
In 2008, wind-tower manufacturer Tower Tech located in the region and will transport its products across Texas and beyond by mid-2009.
“Tower Tech will also utilize our convenient interstate and rail systems to best serve their customers,” Robinett says. “The company receives a lot of its steel through the Port of Houston, which will then be shipped up here by truck. They couldn’t have picked a better place to locate their business than Abilene.”
In San Angelo, city officials are looking forward to welcoming two new highway connections through their community – the Texas Trunk System and the Ports-to-Planes Trade Corridor, both planned north-south expressways.
The Texas Trunk System will be a four-lane divided highway that will eventually connect San Angelo to I-20 to the north and to I-10 to the south. The Ports-to-Planes Trade Corridor will also be a four-lane divided highway that will ultimately connect San Angelo with Mexico as well as the northern United States.
“Both highways are still a few years away from arriving here, although the Texas Trunk System is high on the priority list for the Texas Department of Transportation,” says Patrick J. Malloy, vice president of economic development for the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce. “We need those highway links to expand our manufacturing sector. But in the meantime, our local economy is still doing pretty well these days.”
Malloy says one of the most utilized aspects of the city’s overall transportation system is San Angelo Regional Airport-Mathis Field.
“American Eagle offers flights to and from Dallas-Fort Worth every day, and several companies in San Angelo do business in DFW or connect there for further flights,” he says. “Having a top-notch airport here in San Angelo is certainly a bonus for our overall community.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
Photo by J. Kyle Keener
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