Sometimes on here, we are vexed by the way priorities are set on highway work in Texas. Why does this project get completed before / after another on the same overall project especially long roads like I-69. This si also true about how one obvious need is ignored and a seemingly spurious project is built rather quickly.
The difference is TxDOT regions. Each have their own priorities, their own budgets, and their own timetables. There are 25 of them. That is not to say they have no interactions with the central agency, but the regional planning commissions In most of Texas regional "councils of government" and some MPC's in urban areas realistically have more say in how the money is spent than the central agency framework at TxDOT. The regional planning agencies don't really have the ability to demand anything be built, but their veto power causes TxDOT to change their priorities instead of losing the funding that is allotted to them. There are also significant prioritizations made by the District engineer and his planning staff.