South Texas is one step closer to bringing U.S. Highway 77 up to interstate highway standards, which would usher in the official start of the long awaited I-69 transportation corridor.

Interstate 69, a conceptual traffic artery from the Rio Grande Valley through the Coastal Bend to Texarkana and on toward Canada has been on transportation planning drawing boards for more than 20 years.

Plans call for both U.S. Highways 77 and 281 to be upgraded, and counties and cities along both routes have been jockeying for years to have their portion of the project started first.

U.S. 77 has a head start because environmental studies for a sizable portion of South Texas are close to completion, while similar studies for 281 are behind.

At a public meeting Tuesday night, the Texas Department of Transportation and leaders from Nueces and San Patricio counties said that a six-mile strip of existing roadway in Robstown that includes an overpass dedicated in 2010 likely is to be the first portion to get signage designating it as I-69.

That signage, which should happen in the next few months, will allow the state to draw down additional transportation project funding that is earmarked only for existing projects, according to transportation officials.  A single sign will bring the project into actual existence. 

That's good news for Nueces and San Patricio County  business and economic interests because the creation of an interstate highway through this part of the world comes with a host of benefits that are associated with increased traffic and commerce on interstates.

Overall, to run I-69 through Texas will cost in excess of $16 billion. Because the state does not have that kind of money, it will be built in increments. Completion could take 20 years or more.

Transportation project progress is almost always measured in decades, so the timeframe in question is no real surprise. I agree with what Nueces County Judge Loyd Neal and San Patricio County Judge Terry Simpson said Tuesday night.

We all need to get behind this project and push it to fruition.