Posted on 01/19/2005 1:02:58 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Texas Department of Transportation officials sought to allay the fears of a skeptical McLennan County Commissioners Court on Tuesday regarding the Trans-Texas Corridor and the potential for a new tollway running through the county.
Highway officials said they will continue to seek input from the public and local governments as the massive project's design takes shape. They also said they're committed to pushing forward on the corridor based on the need to alleviate traffic congestion on Interstate Highway 35.
"The congestion, we think, on 35 is reaching critical mass," said Phillip Russell, director of the transportation department's turnpike division. "We have to do something to take care of it."
In the second of a series of transportation discussions, commissioners grilled highway officials on a project that could cut a 1,200-foot swath through McLennan County.
The corridor's design and alignment will be determined in the next few years as the state and Cintra, a Spanish engineering and financing firm, roll out segments of the project. The Texas Transportation Commission selected a proposal by Cintra to invest $7.2 billion to begin building the corridor's first stage a toll road between Dallas and San Antonio.
The magnitude of the project, and the fact construction is scheduled to begin as early as 2010, drew Bell County commissioners and city of Waco officials also thirsty for more information on the project.
Corridor proponents say the multi-use, statewide network of transportation routes to be constructed in phases over the next half-century will incorporate some existing highways while carving out new ones.
McLennan County commissioners pressed for details related the corridor's possible effects on Interstate 35 traffic and commerce.
"In my mind, if that's your goal to relieve congestion on I-35 you're taking away a lot of goods and services that we depend on economically," Commissioner Lester Gibson said.
They also raised concerns about the strain that a new state-owned tollway could place on the local tax base as land is taken from the county tax rolls and counties are potentially forced to accept responsibility for emergency response on the new roads.
Another concern of commissioners is that access to the corridor would be too infrequent, thereby hindering farmers and ranchers from getting to sections of their land alienated by the corridor.
Transportation officials said access to the corridor would be comparable to existing interstate highways, with rural access points spaced between two and five miles apart.
Gov. Rick Perry proposed the concept of a 4,000-mile Trans-Texas Corridor in 2002. Texas lawmakers passed legislation authorizing the project's creation in 2003.
Cintra's involvement sparked concerns among McLennan County commissioners that a private business would set a route for the corridor that best served its interests.
Russell said Cintra's investment enables the state to jump-start needed infrastructure improvement that it wouldn't be able to otherwise afford. Cintra stands to profit from the tollway, but the corridor is a state highway and is subject to the same public review and design processes as all other state facilities, he said.
He also said the department's process of designing the corridor would be a public affair. A Waco meeting on the project will be held Feb. 24.
At its largest, the project could be a 1,200-foot-wide corridor including separate tollways for passenger vehicles and freight trucks, six rail lines, and utility lines for water, petroleum, natural gas, electricity and data.
The state has estimated that the corridor could consume 146 acres for every mile it runs, which some say could equal up to 4,200 acres in McLennan County.
Transportation officials said that Texas's growing population demands increased infrastructure to maintain safe and efficient travel.
The number of registered autos in Texas increased 61 percent between 1980 and 2003 to 18.9 million, Russell said. During the same time, the number of state highway lane miles increased 7.6 percent.
Richard Skopik, Waco-based district engineer for the highway department, said Interstate 35 would have to be increased to 10-12 lanes in Waco and eight lanes in rural McLennan County by 2025 to adequately accommodate projected growth.
Commissioners asked whether improvements and expansion of Interstate 35 could solve the state's transportation needs.
Skopik assured commissioners that improvements slated for the interstate, including increasing all McLennan County segments to six lanes, would not be distracted or abandoned because of the sprawling corridor project.
But widening Interstate 35 to the point it could accommodate the state's future transportation needs is unrealistic because it would require condemning well-developed urban and rural areas, Russell said.
More information on the transportation department's plans are available on the Internet at www.keeptexasmoving.org.
In other action Tuesday, commissioners approved plans by the Heart O' Texas Fair Complex to lease the naming rights of the complex's Show Pavilion.
Wes Allison, president and general manager of the complex, said the complex is looking for a sponsor that would mesh with the pavilion's clientele, which he described as an upper-middle class crowd that can afford to participate in equine and other entertainment events.
The sponsor's name would appear on signs related to Show Pavilion, including the indoor arena, warm-up arena, covered arena and stall barn. Naming rights would not apply to the Heart O' Texas Coliseum, Allison said.
Allison said the pavilion's naming rights would probably cost at least $100,000 on a lease that lasted from three to 10 years. The naming rights would not be leased to tobacco or alcohol companies, he said.*** ??? Matt Joyce can be reached at mjoyce@wacotrib.com or 757-5735.
Trans-Texas Corridor PING!
Thanks for the ping!
Too much too little too late.
That pretty much rules out me ever seeing it completed. sniff, sniff...
I'm assuming they served them up with some BBQ sauce :)
BTTT!!!!!!!
Anytime large sums of money and politicos are in close proximity to each other . . . one can bet hands are scratching backs all over the damn place.
Yes! but your taxes will be required all along the way no matter how long you live; and even if you die your estate or whats left of it will also be taxed beyond the grave, bet on it!
Ok, I'm going to put my little tin foil hat on here because I have a major problem with Cintra providing any financial terms or engineering. It's the business of our government using our funds to build roads, not some foreign country.
Ok, fine! So today it's a north-south corridor running along I-35. Maybe we could have the French Bullet Train provide us with engineering and financial assistance running east and west tomorrow. Oh, and let's not forget we also need 2 other countries to offer their engineering and financial assistance for each diagonal conglomomess across the country.
I can agree something needs to be done along I-35, I just don't think we need a lambhorgini when an Escalade might be better for all involved.
FYI:
The road segment south of Austin to I-10 has environmental clearance and construction should begin in two years. That section ultimately will end at San Antonio. Right-of-way and construction will cost $710 million.
The near-term project phase is divided into seven segments. A portion of the $1.2-billion concession fee will be paid at the start of each piece. Cintra will pay TxDOT a $37-million concession fee for the segment from south of Austin to San Antonio when the contract is signed.
Cintra’s master development plan will be a "live instrument,’’ says Jose Lopez de Fuentez, Cintra’s director for U.S. and Latin America. "It can change and be modified.’’ The roads will start with four 13-ft-wide lanes for cars and trucks. As traffic grows, more lanes will be added.
The original four lanes ultimately will be only for trucks, says Jon Engelke, Earth Tech section manager. Each dedicated roadway will be separated by a 270-ft median, in which new passenger lanes can be added. Ultimately there will be four freight lanes and six passenger lanes.
The other six projects include a $1.79- billion road from south to east of Dallas and a $775-million road from east to north of Dallas, both to start construction in 2009. A $986-million extension from Austin to Temple and a $1.7-billion extension from Temple to Dallas will start in 2010. A $489-million extension from east to south of San Antonio and an $852-rail extension will begin in 2011. A freight rail line would start by 2007.
Cintra’s only other large U.S. investment is Chicago’s Skyway Bridge. In joint venture with Sydney, Australia-based Macquarie Bank
Another FYI
Shares of highway operator Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte SA rose as much as 5.1 percent after a court affirmed the Spanish company's right to increase tolls on a Canadian highway.
The stock climbed 41 cents to 8.53 euros after the Superior Court of Ontario ruled that charges on a 108-kilometer (67-mile) commuter route north of Toronto can be changed without the approval of the provincial government.
``The possible uncertainty on Cintra's tariff policy for Toronto is dispelled,'' analysts at Madrid-based brokerage Ibersecurities said in an e-mailed note.
Cintra has been expanding in North America after an initial public offering last October raised 1.5 billion euros ($2 billion). The 407 route generated 44 percent of the Madrid- based company's revenue in 2003.
The advance in Cintra shares meant that the stock surpassed its IPO price of 8.24 euros for the first time.
``Highway usage is exceeding expectations,'' said Enrique Diaz-Rato, chief executive of the road's operating company, 407 ETR, in which Cintra has a 53 percent stake. Tolls on the route will be increased as much as 7.6 percent.
In making its ruling, the Ontario court upheld an arbitrator's decision on the approval of toll increases, rejecting an appeal from the provincial government.
Biggest Increase
Charges on the route will be raised from Feb. 7, Woodbridge, Ontario-based 407 ETR said. The biggest increase will apply during off-peak hours, with peak charges -- 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays -- rising 7.2 percent, Cintra said.
Cintra, which also runs highways in countries including Spain, Ireland and Chile, is 62 percent owned by Grupo Ferrovial SA, Spain's second-largest construction company by revenue and the builder of the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao. Ferrovial shares climbed 2.5 percent to 40.70 euros.
In the past three months Cintra has won concessions to run a 7.8-mile toll-road and bridge in Chicago and to develop the longest toll route in Texas.
Shares of Macquarie Infrastructure Group, which also owns part of 407 ETR, today rose 4.1 percent in Sydney. Macquarie sold its holding in Cintra in the Spanish business's IPO.
Did Centra buy out El Browno Y Rooto?
"Who has their hands deep, deep in Cintra's cookie jar?"
http://www.tpj.org/Lobby_Watch/perryroads.html
http://www.firericwilliamson.com
The fish rots from the head? I think Perry will end up running CINTRA in the USA.
And I have a problem with a law (HB3588) which gives "quick claim" authority to corrupt State Highway Commissioners who may have jobs waiting for them at CINTRA or other highways companies -domestic OR foreign. It is no great stretch to suggest CINTRA might be telling TX-DOT WHICH land they want comndemned for their highway.
And I have a problem with a law (HB3588) which gives "quick claim" authority to corrupt State Highway Commissioners who may have jobs waiting for them at CINTRA or other highways companies -domestic OR foreign. It is no great stretch to suggest CINTRA might be telling TX-DOT WHICH land they want comndemned for their highway.
I hope not. That decision should be up to the state of TX or TxDOT in conjunction with the PEOPLE of Texas.
You're welcome.
Of course, but just think about the implications with the corrupt, bought-and-paid-for TxDOT Commission. . . .
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