W. Texas needs mass transit system

Since the economic stimulus legislation passed, money is becoming available to improve our regional infrastructure. I believe it is time West Texans urged our politicians to act for our common good and look at the possibility of improving our mass transportation situation.

When I lived in Denton and Fort Worth in the 1970s, the DFW airport was built. I drove a cab at the time and remember many of my passengers complaining about the new airport being in the middle of nowhere. Since then, the area surrounding the airport has exploded with development. Indeed, the growth of the entire Metroplex has centered on the airport.

There is another spot in the "middle of nowhere" that could benefit West Texans similarly. If we could fund a project to build a regional airport at a spot roughly equidistant from Lubbock, Midland, San Angelo and Abilene and provide high-speed (100-120 mph) rail transport from these cities to that airport, the benefits to West Texans would be incalculable.

The population of the 27 surrounding counties is 869,000, a population that has always been underserved by mass transit. With such a system, the average commute time from any city would be about one hour, which is about the time needed to get to most metropolitan airports throughout the world via train.

The cost of dual-track high-speed rail construction is between $800,000 and $1.3 million per mile, possibly less in rural areas. This would bring the initial cost of the rail system to roughly $400 million, plus the cars.

The benefits to the area during the next 25 to 50 years would be astronomical. The rail construction itself would inject about $80 million to $100 million to the region for four to five years, not to mention the advantages to our economy of a regional airport.

Admittedly, this is an ambitious project, but I believe we should urge our sometimes-shortsighted and -provincially minded elected officials to act on this while the money's up for grabs. Who can argue with organized, green and long-term growth for our children and future generations? Growth without organization in living organisms is known as cancer.

With such a mass transit system, West Texas could flourish economically like never before. And no, I don't own or have rights to or future options on any land in the area.

Bill Sorrels is a San Angelo resident.