Moratorium sought (on public-private toll road projects)

Herald Democrats ^ | April 11, 2007 | Mary Jane Famer

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Proponents and opponents alike of the proposed Trans Texas Corridor might be pleased with a bill amendment that, if it completes the legislative process, will put a two-year moratorium on private-public highway partnerships. Officials in Austin believe it will pass both the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate but are unsure whether Gov. Rick Perry will sign it into law.

Senate Bill 1267 and House Bill 1892 impose a two-year moratorium on privately funded toll road projects by barring any new comprehensive development agreements or toll-project sales to a private entity, and requiring a study committee to examine the impact of such projects. Privately funded roads are accompanied by giving the funding entity the right to tolls collected during a specified period of time. In TTC’s case, that would be for 50 years.

Texas Department of Transportation Engineer Bobby Littlefield said that during that 50-year period, the funding entity must be and remain in compliance with Texas rules regarding amounts collected, maintenance and upkeep, and such.

Wednesday marked the third and final reading of the amendment to HB 1892, which corresponds almost verbatim with SB 1267. Texas State Rep. Larry Phillips of Sherman said that now it will be sent to the Senate and assigned to a committee there. The Senate committee must then approve the bill or it will die there. If the committee approves it, then the House and Senate memberships must vote, after which it will go to the governor’s desk for approval or veto.

Meanwhile, SB 1267 is only about a week behind. It has come out of committee but has not yet been scheduled for public hearings, said Jody Withers, communications director for Texas Sen. Craig Estes of Wichita Falls. When that’s done, it will be sent to the House.

The proposed bills create study committees and require public hearings, which Phillips said will consider all aspects of the private-public highway partnerships.

TxDOT officials held public hearings all across Texas in 2005 and 2006 on the Trans Texas Corridor. The general consensus at most of these hearings was that the public is against creating criss-cross massive transportation systems over Texas, but that many city and county entities believe the systems are becoming more and more essential with every year that passes. Some are even vying to have TTC pass by their areas in order to increase quality of life.

“I believe that I-35 needs relief and most people in the (legislative) districts agree, and it will have to happen,” Phillips said. He explained that TxDOT and the Texas Transportation Committee are, while considering the TTC as an option, also considering additional lanes on I-35 and the construction costs for that type of relief.

“Senator Estes also is in favor of this moratorium,” Withers said. “He compares the (funding method) to a ship on the ocean. If it’s traveling one or two degrees off course, the ship can end up a continent away from its destination. We must get on the right course.”

Littlefield said there are about 40 projects in the works statewide right now that could be affected by this bill. Two local projects, State Highway 289 in Grayson County and State Highway 121 in Collin and Denton counties, will not be affected, according to Withers.

When asked about the proposal, Grayson County Commissioner Gene Short, Precinct 4, said the county has a signed contract with TxDOT for the SH 289 project.

“I don’t think they are going to want to go back on that,” Short said. Construction on the extension is expected to begin this spring and contractors, attorneys and others have already been paid money for work performed.

Grayson County sold $63 million in bonds in January to pay for the project until the state starts paying the county $85 million in pass-through toll payments promised in the contract. The arrangement will allow the state to pay back the county for the costs of building the extension based on the number of cars using that portion of the road once it is built.

The SH 121 toll project is not expected to be affected, either, Withers said. Cintra-Zachry has been granted the bid. Withers explained, however, that his understanding is that the North Texas Toll Authority is now being given a chance to bid on the project, designed to turn SH 121 in Collin and Denton counties into a toll road and offer additional lanes and other amenities. If the Toll Authority wants to offer a bid against Cintra Zachry’s bid, it will be considered, Withers said. That could push back construction times but will not halt the overall project.

“Timing is critical (on this bill),” Phillips said. It must be completed by May 28, the end of the current, 80th legislative session. The crux of it will depend on Perry’s yea or nay. He has 30 days to put pen to it, whether to veto or approve it. If Perry doesn’t sign it during that 30-day period, it automatically becomes law. If he vetoes it, the legislature can go over his head with a two-thirds vote in both houses. But, whether or not it can be brought back up in any called special sessions is undetermined right now, Phillips said.

Phillips added that he has no feel on which direction the governor will go. Withers said he hasn’t heard a definitive answer, but added that he has been told Perry doesn’t believe it is necessary. Both Phillips and Estes voted for the moratorium.

“The Trans Texas Corridor may be happening faster than the public is ready for it,” Phillips said. “This (moratorium) could give citizens a time to step back, evaluate and learn more about it.”

Private financing of public roads is a new tool made available by the 79th Legislature.

Estes said he feels there needs to be a brake put on the public-private contracts used to finance new toll-road projects and the Trans Texas Corridor. “There are too many unanswered questions and recent revelations of poor accountability require the Legislature to step in. When you are talking about a contract (TTC) that could last one-half a century, two years wait and study time could not be harmful.”

“We have (traffic) congestion issues in the state and we are going to have to deal with those,” Phillips said. He explained that statistics show that the triangle from Sherman to San Antonio to Beaumont is expected to double its population within 25 years. “We have to be thinking long term, but everyone wants to make sure that what’s happening is best for Texas and there are proper protection and safeguards in place.”

Estes added that his concern is that private contracts lack the accountability and transparency voters demand in the operations of their government. “Until we fully understand both the public policy and the fiscal impact of these agreements, it is in the interest of the public to stop them before it is too late,” Estes said.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Moratorium on toll roads proposed

Legislation would slow down work on Trans-Texas Corridor

April 12, 2007 - Posted at 12:00 a.m.
BY GABE SEMENZA - VICTORIA ADVOCATE

Russell Pruitt supports a proposed two-year moratorium on private toll roads that won preliminary approval in the Texas House on Tuesday, but he said, "It still doesn't kill what's coming down."

Pruitt, a Victoria opponent of the Trans-Texas Corridor, isn't optimistic that a moratorium will pass approval in the Texas Senate, but he said if it does, it could give he and other critics more time to inform people about what he thinks are the project's pitfalls.

The moratorium would slow down the controversial corridor - a 4,000-mile superhighway and network of toll roads, rail lines and utilities - and allow more time for research into its impacts. Earlier this year, a Spanish company was awarded a contract to build and maintain the project.

Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, the Brenham Republican who added this proposal to House Bill 1892, said the moratorium - which would also freeze seven other near-term state toll projects - should include the formation of a state-created commission to study the effects of private equity toll roads.

Because the Trans-Texas Corridor contract with that foreign company would last 50-plus years, Kolkhorst said she thinks it wise to look "before we leap" into long-term agreements of this nature.

"This was a very good day for all of us that believe Texans should own and operate our highways and keep the money working for Texans, rather than being siphoned off by investors from Spain," she said in a release upon learning about the preliminary House approval.

But critics of the moratorium argue that without private tolls, the state would need to increase the gas tax to pay for roads.

"However well-intentioned, the moratorium adopted by the House would eliminate an enormous pool of non-tax money to address traffic and transportation needs," said Joe Krier, chairman of Texans for Safe Reliable Transportation, to The Associated Press. "Fewer transportation dollars mean fewer transportation alternatives, and more traffic gridlock."

The contract with Spanish-American consortium Cintra-Zachry is estimated to be worth $184 billion.

Gov. Rick Perry, who has long championed the Trans-Texas Corridor, has urged the Senate to reject the moratorium.

"There are no such things as freeways," he said in a statement last week. "There are taxways and tollways, and for 50 years, we have tried taxways that have been underfunded by Austin and Washington and that have left local communities choking on pollution and brimming with congestion."

Chris Steinach, Kolkhorst's chief of staff, said in a telephone conversation Wednesday that if the proposal passes quickly in the Senate - with more than two-thirds of members in support - it would have enough backing to squelch a Perry veto.

"Now, all our eyes are on the Senate," Steinbach said.

Paul Frerich, the director of planning and development for the Yoakum district of the Texas Department of Transportation, said he couldn't comment on whether he believes the moratorium is a good or bad idea.

"Well, we will follow the rules and guidelines set forth by the legislature," he said. "If it's passed, we'll follow it."

The moratorium passed in the House by a 134-5 margin.

Pruitt, meanwhile, said he has hope this is a sign of things, and toll roads, not to come.

"The corridor is selling Texas," the critic said. "It's taking Texas land and giving work to foreigners."

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Trans-Texas Corridor PING!

[100-Fold_Return]

You so-called conservatives are back in power and every Texan will be paying $.08 tax on every gallon of petrol.

EVERY TEXAN.

Austin liberal elites are regaining power shutting down that mean, old Trans-Texas Corridor.

For the Chillrum

[Froufrou]

“whether Gov. Rick Perry will sign it into law.”

Because what he’ll do next is anyone’s wildest guess!

[Tzimisce]

See, your billions in taxes aren’t enough. We need “fees” to keep the roads working....

[bobjam]

The reason for P3’s (public-private partnerships) for new highways is that the cost to construct the highway exceeds the bonding capacity of the public agency. While a highway may be toll feasible (meaning there will be enough toll revenue to pay for construction and interest within a specified time frame) and necessary, the public agency responsible for the road cannot generate the up front capital necessary to complete the road.

[ravingnutter]

"There are taxways and tollways, and for 50 years, we have tried taxways that have been underfunded by Austin and Washington and that have left local communities choking on pollution and brimming with congestion."

Perry, you remind me of my ex-hubby...you sure are nice to look at, but you talk alot of crap. Give us back the money you and your cohorts stole for other projects so we can build the flyovers that were already in the budget.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[wolfcreek]

Saying that the Texas population will double by 2040 is an *ALGORE* like scare tactic used by proponents of the TTC and TXDOT.

Check out the projections here.

http://txsdc.utsa.edu/tpepp/

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Perhaps the bonding capacity should be raised, as long as it doesn’t throw the state’s bond rating into the crapper.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

bump.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Perry, you remind me of my ex-hubby...you sure are nice to look at, but you talk alot of crap. Give us back the money you and your cohorts stole for other projects so we can build the flyovers that were already in the budget.

Yeah, what you said! Only 11 cents out of 20 cents a gallon goes to the roads!

[Ben Ficklin]

So there are 3 scenarios on population growth, 71.5%, 109%, and 148%.

[Proud_texan]

"Give us back the money you and your cohorts stole"

Ain't that the truth? It took us putting republicans in power to really screw us over. I've never been so ashamed in my life.

Claytie probably had the best advise but I just haven't figured out a way to enjoy it yet.

[deport]

Saying that the Texas population will double by 2040 is an *ALGORE* like scare tactic used by proponents of the TTC and TXDOT.

---

So, which growth rate do you subscribe to?....... In either senario the growth rate requires some major actions today to be in place to handle what happens...

For the State

• By 2010, Texas is likely to have 25 million people and by 2040 could have more than 51.7 million people.
• Under all scenarios the projected growth will be substantial. Under the 0.5 scenario, the population increases to nearly 35.8 million by 2040, a percentage increase of 71.5 percent and a 14.9 million person increase from 2000 to 2040 (a numerical increase greater than the State's total population in 1980). Under the 2000-2004 scenario, the population would increase to 43.6 million by roughly 109 percent, by 22.7 million (more than doubling the State's 2000 population and nearly doubling the 2005 estimated population of 22.9 million) and under the rapid growth, 1.0 scenario, Texas population would increase to 51.7 million, by 148 percent, or roughly 30.9 million persons from 2000 to 2040 (an increase greater than the population of California in 1990).
• Growth will substantially exceed that for the nation which the Census Bureau projects to be roughly 49 percent for the 50-year period from 2000 to 2050.

[PAR35]

Perry and Williamson overreached. If they had been less greedy, they wouldn’t have stirred up as much opposition. The 121 situation was an outrage. They deserve the slapdown.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

You’re welcome. :-)

[bobjam]

Typical turnpike authorities have their bond ratings independant of the state. The stupendous cost of a new highway would exceed the amount of money the agency can raise without putting it in financial peril. It is possible to create a new agency specifically for the TTC, but without any credit history, it would have even less of chance of raising the necessary funds.

In the 1940’s and 1950’s, highways were relatively cheap to build. Right of way was easy to acquire and the public was pretty enthusiastic about building them. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority, New York State Thruway Authority, Sunshine State Parkway Authority (Florida), etc had little trouble selling bonds, building the roads, and then paying for them with toll revenue. The process had become routine. Since then, we have passed a litany of environmental regulations (for example, we can no longer dump stormwater runoff directly into a nearby creek or river; we must treat it in a pond of some sort), the cost of right of way has skyrocketed (instead of open farmlands, highways now go through developable investment properties), and the general public is not quite as enthusiastic about building these things. The result is that the cost to construct has exceeded the capacity of a 1940’s era financial model.

The solution is to go back to the railroad model of the 1800’s. A group of investors would acquire a charter from the state to build a railroad. The money came from deep pocketed Europeans lead by the Bank of England. Fees would be charged to those who used the railroad in order to pay off the bond holders and turn a profit for the investors. The result is that unlike every other industrialized nation, our freight rail network is privately owned and privately operated (and it’s the best in the world).

[deport]

Wait till Corsi and the others find out what is happening south of Dallas with the Dallas Logistical Hub. It will give them another round of hyperventiling. I have been noticing this UP Intermodal facility as it developed over the past couple of years while travesing I-45. It is huge and from I-45 there are containers stacked all over the landscape.

[The Dallas Logistics Hub (the "Hub") is the largest new logistics park under development in North America, with 6,000 acres master-planned for the development of 60 million square feet of distribution, manufacturing, office and retail uses. The Hub also has the potential to be the first logistics park with two intermodal facilities serviced by the two largest freight carriers in the United States. Union Pacific Railroad currently operates a 360,000 lift per year intermodal terminal adjacent to the Hub, with BNSF Railway Company evaluating a potential site on the western side of the project.]

The grand opening announcement is scheduled for today, Apr. 13, 2007.

The Allen Group Announces Event Details for the Dallas Logistics Hub Grand Opening Ceremony..4-13-07

San Diego, CA (March 15, 2007) — The Allen Group, a major developer of commercial properties across the United States, has rescheduled its Grand Opening Ceremony for the Dallas Logistics Hub at the Lancaster Municipal Airport on Friday, April 13, 2007. Executives from The Allen Group will be joined by Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams, U.S. Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, and several other state and local dignitaries, community and business leaders for a Texas-style barbeque celebration. The event will also feature personalized helicopter tours of the property – showcasing the site’s immediate rail, intermodal and highway infrastructure.

"America's Inland Port"

The Dallas Logistics Hub is the largest new logistics park in North America, with 6,000 acres master-planned for the potential 60 million square feet of distribution, manufacturing, office and retail development.  The Dallas Hub will position Dallas as the number one trade hub in the Southwest region and serve as the primary gateway for the distribution of goods to the major population centers in the Central and Eastern United States.

This premiere logistics facility, is adjacent to Union Pacific’s Southern Dallas Intermodal Terminal, a potential BNSF intermodal facility,  four major highway connectors (I-20, I-45, I-35 and the future Loop 9/Trans-Texas Corridor) and Lancaster Airport, which is in the master-planning stages to expand for air cargo distribution.

The Dallas Hub, which spans across the communities of Dallas, Lancaster, Wilmer and Hutchins, is a key component of the NAFTA infrastructure will serve as a major “inland port” bringing products from the Ports of L.A./Long Beach and Houston, as well as the western deep water ports in Mexico for regional and national distribution.

Union Pacific Railroad Opens New $100 Million International Container Facility to Handle Future Growth