WACO (October 7, 2009)--The Texas Department of Transportation announced Wednesday it is taking formal steps to cancel its unpopular Trans-Texas Corridor project, which has already cost the state millions of dollars to gather up plans, hold public meetings and conduct environmental studies, but the Waco-based Texas Farm Bureau says the ambitious effort won’t really be dead as long as the statutes that authorized it remain on the books.

The $175 billion proposal to build a network of toll roads and rail lines, the brainchild of Gov. Rick Perry, ran into fierce opposition virtually since it was proposed in 2002.

On Wednesday, state officials told reporters that it had notified federal highway authorities this week that TxDOT wants to halt what was to be the first leg of the project along heavily congested Interstate 35.

TxDOT has already spent about $15 million on environmental studies and planning documents associated with the I-35 corridor, and the cost will rise as the cancellation process grinds to a halt, officials said.

"If TTC-35 is really dead, it's good news. But we've heard that before," said Texas Farm Bureau President Kenneth Dierschke.

"We hope this is the final death of the corridor. Until the Legislature deals the final blow, we'll reserve judgment,” he said.

"One question lingers on the minds of Texas property owners on the proposed route. Will the same old problem emerge in the future under a new name?” he said.

The announcement Wednesday doesn’t affect construction of the fifth and sixth segments of State Highway 130 between Austin and Seguin or efforts to develop Interstate 69 announced last year.

The announcement was made a day after the Farm Bureau’s political action wing endorsed Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, in her GOP primary race against Perry next year.

The Farm Bureau, which continues to be one of the most vocal of the opponents to the corridor project and one of the most outspoken advocates of reform of eminent domain, cited Hutchison’s commitment to private property rights as a major reason for the endorsement.