The Texas Department of Transportation’s area engineer has blocked an effort by local merchants, the Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce and the city to promote the Historic Main Street district after the group invested more than $2,000 in promotional banners, believing they could be widely displayed on US 281 North.

Although engineer Howard Lyons said TxDOT -- which Texas U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutcheson has described as "the most arrogant state agency in the history of America" -- never authorized the vertical banners to be hung from traffic signal poles, others involved in the project said they clearly believed they had the state's approval.

Judy Miller, city manager of Marble Falls when the project was initiated more than a year ago, said she knew "it would be an obstacle to get TxDOT to even consider putting them on their poles,” but never got "a firm and fast 'no.’" Instead, she recalled that Lyons told her at one of their regular meetings, “Let's look at this when we get the new signals in and see if you have enough utility poles."

Lyons denies that held out any hope for approval in his meetings with city officials.

"We solved this issue, in my opinion, six months ago when I had direct discussions with the city," he said.

However, after the new signals were installed, a businessman involved said he never heard that Lyons had denied the request, which was intended to help local merchants attract visitors passing through town. So he followed up by contacting Tony Reitan, TxDOT's Burnet County maintenance supervisor and the primary contact for signage on state roads in the area.

"Tony said he would check to see if permits were required and would call me back," said Grant Dean, owner of a construction company and Lorraine's downtown music venue. "He called me back and said ‘no.' So we ordered (the banners)."

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