TxDot may close several roadside rest stops in the Panhandle
AMARILLO, TEXAS -- The Texas Panhandle may lose half of its roadside picnic areas or rest stops. It's because of a loss in revenue for the Texas Department of Transportation and budget issues.
It's not official and no decisions have been finalized, but TxDot is looking to close roughly 24 of the 46 picnic areas or rest stops along highways in the Texas Panhandle.
High fuel costs led to a decrease in motor fuel tax revenue which led to a decrease in funding for TxDot, so to focus their budget on roadway maintenance they're looking to close some rest areas that may not be necessary.
"It's definitely a work in progress, there is a value in all of them, but I will use an example, right South of Canyon there's two picnic areas that are only 2 to 3 hundred feet apart, and certainly those get used but you don't need both of them, so we certainly have to look at closing at least one of them," said Howard Holland, TxDot's Amarillo District Engineer.
It costs roughly 9-thousand dollars to operate and maintain a rest area. TxDot officials say they are working with each county and are looking at options to keep some of the rest areas open.
"This is one of those issues that is driven by trying to be good managers of the funds we have, and to be very clear in what we're doing and I think so far we're doing that and I hope that people understand that we'll continue to discuss this until we can make good decisions with them," said Holland.
According to Holland there is no timeline on any decisions or action in regards to these rest stops or picnic areas.
