Posted on 03/07/2006 9:27:08 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Excerpt:
Two Texas Projects
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) announced in mid-January that it will be launching two new projects over the next three to four months.
An initial request for qualifications from TxDOT is expected in March for the TTC-69, or trans-Texas corridor/I- 69 project. TTC-69 will be part of a 1,600 mile national highway system connecting Canada, the United States and Mexico. The section comprising TTC-69 would extend approximately 650 miles from Texarkana and Shreveport (along the Texas border with Arkansas and Louisiana) to Mexico. TxDOT indicated that it is looking for a long-term strategic partner for this corridor, and the state’s standardized "comprehensive development agreement" for the project is likely to be similar to the agreement signed with Cintra-Zachry in connection with the I-35 corridor — meaning a pre-development agreement that gives rise to a number of additional procurements as the full scope of the corridor is nailed down. Texas expects to have the comprehensive development agreement negotiated and executed by the end of 2007.
The second project TxDOT announced is a procurement for SH161 that is expected to be initiated in May 2006. The SH161 project would be an extension of SH161 west of Dallas from SH183 north of Dallas to I-20 south of Dallas through the cities of Irving and Grand Prairie. The right-of-way for this project has already been acquired and environmental approval has been secured, but is being updated to incorporate tolling. An unsolicited proposal for this project was received in August 2005.
TxDOT has created a public master schedule of all comprehensive development agreement projects and will update each project’s status as it progresses.
Trans-Texas Corridor PING!
The other white meat.
Thanks for the ping!
You're welcome. :-)
400 billion dollar booddoggle.
Please explain how this is pork, since not only 100% of the road's construction and maintenance costs will be paid by a private firm (who will recoup the cost via tolls), but $1.2 billion will be paid to the state by the firm for the franchise rights. The state will spend less than $50 million in initial studies and related costs. So the next cost to taxpayers is -$1.15 billion, meaning the state makes a $1.15 billion dollar profit on a $50 million investment.
About as accurate a statement as "Bush lied, people died".
BTTT
Funny how in this case the best thing that the government can do is: as little as possible.
If there's one thing I despise, it's 45 mph on an interstate. I remember driving through Indianapolis and discovering, to my unpleasant surprise, that the speed limit on I-70 was 50!
Amen. Texas corruption at its finest.
Who pays the tolls, the tooth fairy?
Paying for roads at toll booths is a bad way to fund roads. The public pays for them one way or another, and handing a virtual monopoy for travel between city A and city B to a private company is a bad idea.
Private toll roads were the norm in Colonial America. We got rid of them for a reason.
I certainly hope that TTC-35 will take more than 15 per cent of the traffic off of I-35. I've read about how much of a b*tch that road is.
Only when youngsters drive 90mph on the weekends trying to get to Galveston to get drunk.
Didn't exactly see that there. Just sounds like they have some money for a road with no specific objective in the first place.
The only people who pay for a toll road are those who CHOSE to use it and pay the price. You can always chose to use the pre-existing free roads, that may be longer or slower or more crowded, but they are free. So anyone who doesn't want to pay the toll doesn't pay for the road. And your claim of a 'virtual monopoly for travel between city A and B' is nonsense. Did you even bother to read the article? I-35 will remain free, and there are several other free route options in that corridor. How do you travel from A to B right now, because those routes will still exist and won't be tolled. Only the new routes will be tolled, or new mainlanes that don't exist right now. But if you want to legally drive at 85mph, you'll have to pay a toll.
Hardly oppressive to have choices.
Anybody that thinks this "Winged Pig" will be a straight shot do not know how things work in Texas. Every medium sized community who has a strong Chamber of Commerce will be very supportive to get TTC close to their communities.
"Economic Development" is the "E Card" they will be playing.
Kinda like the "Race Card" or the "For the Children Card."
Once someone plays the Card all sane arguments are out the window.
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