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Congress has not been able to pass a federal
"The people of the state of Texas spoke loud and clear in the last election," Abbott said, as reported by Texas Tribune. "They want the Texas Legislature to step up and address the challenges we face because of growing congestion on our roadways. The Legislature did step up, and they passed legislation that provides a historic amount of funding to build roads here in the state of Texas."
Governor Abbott signed the bills into law on a heliport, high above an almost $800 million highway project in Dallas known as "the horseshoe project," which is scheduled for completion in 2017.
View from Dallas Convention Center heliport, where Abbott will sign major transportation bills. #txlege pic.twitter.com/7YG0EBQZlk
- Jim Malewitz (@Jmalewitz) June 2, 2015
Texas, which has the most highway miles of any state, has been struggling to find a way to finance its Department of Transportation. Recent flooding in large parts of the state has washed-out miles of highways, bridges and dams.
On the days leading up to the June 1st deadline, lawmakers of the 84th Texas legislature worked well into the night on controversial bills, including open carry gun laws and campus carry.