New book on "the unfinished history" of the I-69 part of the Trans-Texas Corridor

Thanks to Martha Estes for letting us know about a newly released book that sounds very interesting. Matt Dellinger’s “Interstate 69: The Unfinished History of the Last Great American Highway” deals with the TTC-69 part of the Trans-Texas Corridor.

Publishers Weekly says that this book about “the controversial I-69 highway . . . makes for colorful, quirky reading.” As was true about the now-dead TTC-35, TTC-69 also will run from Canada to Mexico and is a NAFTA highway. Whereas TTC-35 was slated to run through Central Texas, TTC-69 is planned to go through East Texas through the Houston area and on to the Rio Grande. Dellinger discusses the many options in play, including “the controversial practice of allowing foreign companies to lease roads long-term and charge escalating tolls.”

In the Statesman, Ben Wear says, “Dellinger details the back-room origins of the now-dead Trans-Texas Corridor. . . . And the book makes indelible characters out of key players in that issue.”

Dellinger is on a national tour and will be at Austin’s Book People, 603 N. Lamar, on Friday, October 1, at 7 p.m. for reading, discussion, and signing.