Texas Transportation Commission Chairman and former longtime state lawmaker Ric Williamson died Sunday of an apparent heart attack, the Associated Press reported. He was 55.
Gov. Rick Perry (R) named Williamson to the commission in 2001, and he became its chairman in 2004. The five-member commission oversees the Texas Department of Transportation. Williamson also served in the Texas Legislature for more than 20 years.
Under Perry and his commission appointees, notably Williamson, the agency shifted to more to relying on toll roads and borrowed money to speed construction, prompting intense criticism from the public, lawmakers and some trucking companies, AP said.
Last year, the state’s Senate unanimously passed a two-year moratorium on private toll road contracts, including projects like the mammoth Trans Texas Corridor, a multi-billion dollar toll-road project backed by Perry, Williamson and TxDOT.
In an editorial published Wednesday, the Dallas Morning News called Williamson “one of the state’s most audacious and colorful personalities, one whose imprint will be felt for decades to come.”
