The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is drafting a new 10-year transportation plan, and says it wants the public to weigh in.

The agency's 2025 Unified Transportation Program (UTP) draft — which will be posted online on July 5 — is proposing $104.2 billion in transportation spending, the second year in a row that the UTP plan exceeds $100 billion.

The record being broken here is: over $100 billion.

TxDOT works with elected officials, planning organizations, and the public to select high-priority transportation projects which could be highways, public transportation, maritime, aviation, rail, or freight & international trade.

This UTP ritual is annual: The Texas Transportation Commission approves the UTP annually by August 31, in accordance with Texas Administrative Code, and TxDOT publishes the approved UTP each year.

"The UTP serves as TxDOT's strategic 10-year blueprint for advancing projects statewide," says Executive Director Marc Williams.

The UTP is not a final step towards project construction. Each project must be awarded funding, generally from state or federal programs. TxDOT’s Financial Management Division presents an analysis of how much money TxDOT has spent and how much it might spend in the future. Their forecast does not guarantee funding.

TxDOT is hosting a virtual public meeting on July 2 at 2 pm to share info about the draft 2025 UTP. This is short notice, but TxDOT only sent out a release on July 1 at 2 pm. If you're not ready to roll with TxDOT, you miss out.

Since the 2025 draft will not be available to see online until Friday, July 5, the public input they're soliciting on July 2 consists of: listening.

A spokesperson says that the call is an opportunity for the public to learn about the UTP, how to comment, and the public involvement process before the actual public comment period begins Friday.

The real public input will be at a hearing on Wednesday, July 31 at 2 pm, when the public can offer comments both on the 2025 UTP as well as the project selection process, during a virtual public hearing, which they can attend by phone — wow, by phone — or online at TxDOT.gov.

The public comment period begins Friday July 5, and ends Monday, August 5, at 4 pm.