Business View Magazine | November 2020

225 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2020 ROSENBERG, TEXAS our economy for decades.” Another major factor in long-term economic sustainability, according to Heath, is mobility – the ability to efficiently move people and goods around. “And we’re blessed to have multi-modal access attractive to companies reliant on moving goods,” he asserts. “We have three Class 1 rail lines that converge in the city – Kansas City Southern, Union Pacific, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe. We also have three major roadway corridors that intersect the city, and all three of them are currently being expanded by the Texas Department of Transportation. Interstate 69, which has been known for years as U.S. Highway 59, is currently being expanded to accommodate federal interstate standards, which will not only double the traffic capacity through the city, but will open up previously undeveloped greenfield sites with the construction of new access roads and the improvement of the existing access roads.” “State Highway 90-A runs east/west through our city,” Heath continues. “It’s still a highly- trafficked area through a commercial district, but the corridor that can have the greatest impact on us in the future is State Highway 36. We’re about 50 miles north of the port of Freeport and SH 36 runs north of the port and directly to our City. Port Freeport is currently in the process of deepening its channel from about 46 feet to 53- 56 feet, which is going to allow it to accept the new panamax freighters that can now access the Gulf of Mexico through the recently expanded Panama Canal. The tonnage of products and materials that will move through the port will grow exponentially. TxDOT is currently widening SH 36 from the port to Rosenberg, and eventually further north. So, this project is going to make us an even more viable market to companies that import or export product or raw material that they use in their processes.” Besides excellent roads, all the other aspects of a functioning infrastructure, including water and wastewater systems are, according