Dive summary:

• Here's a problem that confronts the Texas Department of Transportation: trucks hauling 100,000-pound loads associated with oil and gas fields are beating the pavement off a number of state farm-to-market two-lane roads never intended for that kind of traffic.
• The proposal from the agency is to admit the problem will not be solved in a program always short of sufficient funds and to let 83 miles of the roads in central and west Texas go as officially unpaved routes.
• TxDOT says it is short $4 billion needed for transportation needs anyway, but the idea has brought an outcry from local officials, so county officials in affected areas are getting 60 days to comment.

From the article:

"At some point, when drilling activity has subsided and more funding is available, we plan to rebuild these roads to paved farm-to-market levels," TxDOT Executive Director Phil Wilson said in a statement. ...