Effort to limit toll roads gains steam

Dallas Morning News ^ | March 8, 2007 | Tony Hartzel, Christy Hoppe, and Terrence Stutz

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Texas' push toward private toll roads encountered more opposition Wednesday among state lawmakers.

A bill to halt more private toll road deals for two years gained steam in the Texas House a day after a majority of senators expressed their support for the measure. In addition, a key state senator has asked for more information concerning the $2.8 billion State Highway 121 deal recently announced by state officials.

Dozens of state representatives have signed on to the bill that would place a moratorium on any public-private contracts such as the one for Highway 121. The winning bidder, Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte SA, agreed to pay $2.1 billion in upfront money and $700 million over the life of the 50-year contract for the rights to operate the Highway 121 toll road in Collin and Denton counties.

The moratorium bill's House sponsor, Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, said a state auditor's critical assessment of toll road financing – coupled with the Highway 121 contract's upfront payment and generous profit margin – has led many lawmakers to question if Texas drivers are being sold down the road.

"I don't think it's too much to ask to take two years to look at contracts that will govern our grandkids 50 years from now," she said.

The bill is aimed at "alarming contracts" being signed for toll roads, lawmakers said. It would eliminate noncompete clauses that could prevent the state from building new roads or maintaining existing ones near a new toll road. It also would put some limits on tolls to ensure they remain reasonable.

Under the proposal, a private company could not collect revenue from or operate a tollway. Nor could a toll project entity such as the North Texas Tollway Authority sell a toll road to a private interest.

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

Good. Glad to see it. 121 is going to be great when it's done.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Trans-Texas Corridor PING!

Bills in Texas would disrupt toll road privatization

Miles to go (Should Texans have to pay to drive?)

Other recent stuff about or mentioning the TTC

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

bump.

[Plains Drifter]

Why can't American companies build and own our toll roads?

[BaylorDad]

Why can't American companies build and own our toll roads?

Foreign ownership is just a ruse. It is all about acquiring private land for public use and don't forget we need to bash Gov. Perry in the process.

Delay is not a solution.

[Halgr]

Why just a 2 year limit???????

[ken21]

these lawmakers out to look at cintra's history in canada and on the 91 freeway toll in california.

[Redbob]

My State Senator signed on to the moratorium on toll roads bill, and she's the most senior member of the State Senate: Jane Nelson.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

I've read about the 91 express lanes and their infamous no-compete clause prior to being purchased back by California, but none of the articles I read ever mentioned which company actually built them. Was it actually Cintra?

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Won't delay all toll roads, just PPPs, apparently.

[ken21]

Making tacks (Trans-Texas Corridor)

The Herald Democrat ^ | February 13, 2005 | Kathy Williams

Posted on 02/14/2005 9:23:25 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Making tacks

By Kathy Williams

Herald Democrat

4) If you think that is high, another experiment with a private monopoly being allowed to charge whatever it wanted was done in California. In that case, 2 toll lanes (each way, 10 miles long) were added to the totally packed SH-91 freeway, east of Los Angeles. The toll lane operator actually prevented the state from doing a badly-needed upgrade of a nearby state-owned highway section (using its monopoly clause). It got so ugly, that Orange County had to buy the toll lanes, just to be able to do the upgrade. By the way, those lanes now charge 70 cents per mile, for cars, at peak drive times.

http://www.91expresslanes.com/tollschedules.asp http://bicycleaustin.info/rogerbaker/tollroad-failure.html (read the LA Times article, just over halfway down – ignore the rest of the page, it’s a left-wing site)

[narby]

Oklahoma has been encumbered by toll roads for 50+ years. Glad to see the folks in Baja Oklahoma make the same mistake.

[narby]

The toll lanes on the 91freeway were particularly discusting. The state closed the old highway route, and the toll company cherry picked the only 10 miles of a route that had no alternatives. To avoid the congested freeway, or paying a toll, you would have to drive maybe 30 miles out of your way. On a route where people drive every day, an extra 30 miles one way is just not an option.

The state of California had already provided the on-ramps, off-ramps, and roadway grade. All the toll company did was pave two extra lanes, and began to charge megabucks. That's quite a deal, if you can pursuade lawmakers to give it to you.

I was commuting that route when the toll lanes were under contruction, and afterward. I'm proud to say I never used them, as I refuse to use any toll road.

[ken21]

that's correct!

thanks.

and, folks in texas should pay heed.