WESLACO — Nearly 80 people filled a lecture hall here Thursday for a town hall forum with Texas Department of Transportation officials on a potential interstate highway designation in the region.

The forum at South Texas College’s Mid-Valley Campus was the first of four planned public meetings in the Rio Grande Valley addressing the state’s Trans-Texas Corridor plan for an Interstate 69 extension linking South Texas to points north.

TxDOT is developing plans for the first interstate in eastern Texas to connect Texarkana to one of three points in the south: U.S. Highway 281 in Hidalgo County, U.S. Highway 77 in Cameron County or U.S. Highway 59 in Webb County. Only Webb County is currently served by an interstate.

During the first two hours of the forum Thursday, several Valley leaders asked that the state designate 281 as the official interstate, citing the potential economic and mobility benefits. Just one member of the general public spoke at the meeting, asking only a few questions.

TxDOT has scheduled three more public meetings across the Valley beginning Feb. 4, each consisting of an informal open house followed by a formal hearing for gathering public comments.

Officials say the 650-mile project would reduce congestion and expand economic opportunity. They also say it would satisfy a federal demand to develop an international route that stretches from Mexico to Canada.

TxDOT is expected to make its final recommendation on the I-69 route this summer.

For more information on the meetings and the plan, go to www.dot.state.tx.us.

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Jackie Leatherman covers Hidalgo County government and general assignments at The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4424.