I am very pleased to report that reconstruction on the Katy Freeway has been completed!

The official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Tuesday, October 28 and the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) will open the managed lanes to HOV users beginning 5 a.m. on Wednesday, October 29.

The early completion of this monumental venture is a testament to resourceful leadership, seamless cooperation between local, state and federal government and innovative funding. I am proud to be part of this model project, which brings much-needed mobility to the congested Katy Freeway and proves that letting Texans run Texas is always the best solution.

In a true team effort I worked together with TxDOT and the Harris County Commissioners' Court to develop a cost-effective plan to pay for these essential improvements. I secured the federal permit allowing I-10 to be the nation's first Interstate highway combined with locally operated toll lanes. Ensuring that local toll dollars paid the balance of the expansion meant not having to earmark one federal dollar for this plan, even though I sit on the Appropriations Committee. TxDOT officials, effective county leadership, and incentive-based contracting kept construction moving at a remarkable pace.

We broke ground in June 2003, and just over 5 years later, the largest, most expensive freeway reconstruction in Texas history is finished in record time. With wasteful projects like the Bridge to Nowhere making a mockery of our tax dollars, the Katy Freeway is truly an achievement we can all be proud of. Nowhere else in America are they building a freeway as quickly or cost-effectively as we did right here in west Houston.