SAN ANTONIO – With VIA's modern streetcar project on its last legs, some state leaders are demanding the transit provider be stripped of the $92 million it received through the Texas Department of Transportation to fund the project.
In a joint letter addressed to the Texas Transportation Commission, state Sen. Donna Campbell and Rep. Lyle Larson requested that the money be redirected to local highway projects.
The pair says the $92 million would go a long way in adding capacity to the northern part of Highway 281.
Carlton Soules, a candidate for Bexar County Judge, said he feels the same way.
"That money needs to come back to Bexar County or back to TxDOT to use on critical road funds like (Highway) 281 and (Loop) 1604," Soules said.
Judge Nelson Wolff said the county had no direct financial involvement in VIA's plans.
In a statement to KSAT 12, he said "it is not up to Bexar County to determine where the funding should be redirected. The funding assembled for that plan came from the city of San Antonio, VIA, and the Texas Department of Transportation."