(New throughout, adds comments from Texas governor, landowner groups, background; dateline previously NEW YORK)

By Jim Forsyth

SAN ANTONIO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Texas road officials on Tuesday scrapped a $180 billion plan to build a giant system of toll roads and commuter rails criss-crossing the state in favor of a smaller slate of infrastructure projects.

The state Department of Transportation abandoned the Trans Texas Corridor, the centerpiece of Gov. Rick Perry's long-range transportation plan, after objections from communities and farm groups along the planned route, which would have involved seizing large swaths of private property.

In 2002, Perry unveiled an ambitious plan to build 4,000 miles (6,437 km) of transport corridors a quarter mile wide, which would include room for high-voltage power lines, commuter and freight rail lines, and five road lanes in each direction.

In an "updated vision" for the plan, Texas officials want to build several smaller, narrower segments stretching from San Antonio to the Oklahoma border and from the Rio Grande Valley to Texarkana.

"Texans have spoken, and we've been listening," said Amadeo Saenz, executive director of the Department of Transportation. The new plan "goes a long way toward addressing the concerns we've heard."

A spokeswoman for Perry said the new plan was welcomed.

"The Trans Texas Corridor was merely a concept," the spokeswoman, Allison Castle, said. "Transitioning to an updated vision for infrastructure in the state is a positive move."