Interstate 14

**Interstate 14** (**I-14**), also known as the "**Fourteenth Amendment Highway**", the **Gulf Coast Strategic Highway** and the **Central Texas Corridor**, is an Interstate Highway currently as an intrastate in the U.S. state of Texas that follows U.S. Highway 190 (US 190). The highway was named for the 14th Amendment. In 2005, I-14 was planned to have a western terminus at Natchez, Mississippi (later from I-49 near Alexandria, Louisiana), extending east through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, before ending at Augusta, Georgia or North Augusta, South Carolina. Advocates of the Gulf-Coast Strategic Highway proposed extending I-14 to I-10 near Fort Stockton and the junction of US 277 and I-10 near Sonora, Texas.

The proposal for 14th Amendment Highway has its origins in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The study and planning of I-14 has continued because of support and interest from both the Congress and the associated state highway departments. The I-14 corridor provides a national strategic link to numerous major military bases and major Gulf Coast and Atlantic ports used for overseas deployments in six states from Texas to South Carolina.

The Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST) signed by President Obama on December 14, 2015, officially assigned the Future I-14 designation to the US 190 Central Texas Corridor.

In reality, the current western terminus of I-14 is at State Highway 9 (TX 9) in Copperas Cove, Texas, while I-14's current eastern terminus is at Interstate 35 (I-35) in Belton, Texas.

In the *Intertropolis & Routeville* series, I-14's western terminus is at I-10 near Iraan, Texas and its eastern terminus is at State Route 28 (GA 28) in Augusta, Georgia, near the border with South Carolina.

## History

The highway was proposed in 2005 with a western terminus at Natchez, Mississippi, extending east through the states of Mississippi and Alabama, before ending at Augusta, Georgia.. U.S. Representative Charlie Norwood of Georgia suggested the highway could be extended to Austin, Texas in the west and Grand Strand, South Carolina in the east. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) was signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 10, 2005. Congressional advocacy for the legislation spiked following the post-Hurricane Katrina logistics controversies. The act included the 14th Amendment Highway and the 3rd Infantry Division Highway (I-3). The legislation did not provide funding for either highway. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has no funding identified beyond the Phase II studies to support long-range planning, environmental review or construction which must be initiated at the state or regional level with any further direction from the Congress. The western terminus was later changed to I-49 near Alexandria, Louisiana.

The 14th Amendment Highway and the Gulf-Coast Strategic Highway concepts continued through active studies to the present as local and state interest began to surface and support in the Congress, FHWA and, most importantly, in the associated state highway departments, all the key ingredients necessary to successfully justify funding any proposed Federal-Aid Highway project. The FHWA issued its report on the 14th Amendment Highway to the Congress in 2011 and made recommendation for further environmental and feasibility sub-studies, however little action to fund these studies advanced in Congress after 2011. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) also conducted the *US 190/IH-10 Feasibility Study* in 2011, which concluded that it was justified to upgrade US 190 to a divided four-lane arterial highway based on current traffic projections to 2040, but that upgrading US 190 to a full freeway through Texas was only justified if the 14th Amendment Highway is actually constructed from Louisiana to Georgia.

The I-14 concept became a reality when House Transportation Committee members Brian Babin and Blake Farenthold authored and introduced the amendment to the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST) that created the I-14 Central Texas Corridor that generally follows US 190 in Texas. U.S. Senator John Cornyn of Texas sponsored the amendment in the United States Senate. The official Future I-14 designation was approved when the FAST Act was signed into law on December 4, 2015 by President Obama.

TxDOT is moving forward with designating I-14 along US 190 from Copperas Cove to I-35 in Belton. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) originally denied approval of TxDOT's request for the number at their May 24, 2016, meeting of the Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering, their body responsible for approving designations in the United States Numbered Highway System and Interstate Highway System. The FHWA and AASHTO subsequently approved the I-14 designation. The Texas Transportation Commission made the I-14 number official on January 26, 2017. The official signage ceremony was held April 22, 2017 in Killeen, Texas on the Central Texas College campus. More I-14 signs went up over the next few weeks.

On April 11, 2019, U.S. Rep. Babin introduced I-14 'Forts-to-Ports' bill, which could extend I-14 to Odessa, Texas to the United States House of Representatives.

## Future

I-14 has been expanded from four to six lanes in Killeen, Texas, and some plans are wanting to expand to six lanes to I-35 in Belton. Also Rep. Brian Babin has proposed that I-14 be split in to I-14 North and I-14 South. The northern portion is proposed to go to Odessa using a portion of Loop 338 to get to I-20 and terminate there. I-14 South is proposed to follow US 190 to I-10 and split off of I-14 North at TX 349. This section of US 190 between Iraan and I-10 only sees 600 AADT per day and would probably be useless.

## See also

* Interstate 3
* Interstate 11