Posted on 09/28/2007 5:07:02 AM PDT by ElephantinTexas
TexDOT: No Money to Build New Hghways
Agency blames diversion of state gas tax money, curbs on privately funded toll roads By Jim Forsyth Friday, September 28, 2007 At a time the Texas Department of Transportation is defending spending thousands of dollars on a public relations campaign designed to convince you to support toll roads, the department says it has no money to pay for highway construction, 1200 WOAI's Robert Wood reports.
"The bottom line is, we're running out of money very quickly," TexDOT's Chris Lippincott says.
Lippincott blames decisions by state lawmakers to spend more than $1.5 billion in state gas tax money on pet pork barrel projects, a process painstakingly details by 1200 WOAI news over the last year, as well as hundreds of millions in federal highway dollars lost. TexDOT also blames a two year moratorium on privately funded toll roads which was approved earlier this year by the Texas Legislature.
TexDOT says after fiscal year 2008, which ends September 30, 2008, the department will have no money left for any new highway construction, and says its entire budget will be taken up paying for repairs on existing state highways.
The agency warned that by the early part of the next decade, even funding for repairing existing highways will be in jeopardy.
"That means we won't have as much money for congestion relief," Lippincott says, "We won't be able to build new highways, or new lanes on existing highways."
Lippincott blames 'soaring inflation' which has reduced the ability of the state gasoline tax, which hasn't been raised since the early 1990's.
"Increasing traffic is wearing down our highways. We have a population that increases by a thousand people a day."
But despite this imminent poverty, TexDOT says it will continue to fight attempts by grass roots groups to stop it from spending millions of dollars on 'Keep Texas Moving,' a public relations campaign designed to 'educate' Texans on the need for toll roads, and the Trans Texas Corridor.
I did several searches and didn't see this posted yet and I'm in a big hurry here this morning but I'll give ya' updates as I get 'em.
All Perry’s fault>
LOL... but look at all those neat, bike trails that they’ve built!
The TX state budget and taxes have been growing out pasing the growth of the state for over a decade. Where has the money gone?
They are remodeling the Governor’s Mansion...
That pretty-much sums it up. Gas tax dollars spent on anything other than roads is a waste. If the bikers want bike paths, let the bikers pay for them.
The bought off judge said that they can spend $6 million dollars promoting toll roads that we don’t want.
TXDOT is out of control!
Hello my FRiend. The folks on your ‘ping’ list may want to see this one.
Again, it's all Perry's fault.
These things happen because we no longer hold anyone accountable to the public taxpayers. Let us see the ledgers. We have a right to see them. Show us when and where every last dollar went.
Three guesses and the first two don't count. The politicians and the bureaucrats have used it for their own enrichment and power. Why should they care that the infrastructure is crumbling? See my tag line.
Carolyn
Where’s that picture of 11 men standing around and watching ONE man dig a trench?
No, ALL Perry’s fault. LOL!
He is in fact Darth Idiotus.
Texas is a little slow. California has been doing this for years — diverting gas tax money that is supposed to be spent on roads on garbage. Although Texas is ahead of California on one thing. California just lets their citizens sit in traffic jams. Texas is trying to stop that — by raiding the traveling publics wallet for more money to replace what they have diverted.
Hydroshock, the news sound inflationary. My charts aren’t showing anything tho’
TxDOT is a government institution. Anyone who expects government to act responsibly with accountability for the public trust has been asleep for the past century. These are the same people that some folks want in control of their health care. Scary!!
To be fair, however, it isn’t all TxDOT’s problem. The Congress AND the Texas Legislature have both had their grimy paws in the robbing-the-gas-tax-money debacle that has precipitated the current situation.
When the money is stolen BEFORE you get it in your hands, it is pretty hard to meet increased spending requirements. Sounds a little like withholding income taxes from our pay checks, doesn’t it? The government takes it BEFORE we have a chance to see it.
This is just another example of the rot in government at all levels that is making people distrust the government more than at any time before. I don’t necessarily believe that TxDOT would spend the money more responsibly than the Congress or the Texas Leg, but when they are ripped off by these bodies before they see the money, it is hard to know how to budget appropriately, thus bringing the existing situation to the fore.
DISGRACEFUL!!!!! Prisons are full of incarcerated criminals, but they run free in the halls of our state and national legislative bodies!!!
That is one reason. The KLBJ morning crew is talking about this today.
“One a’coming, one a’going, one a’sh—ing, and one a’hoeing”.
If TxDOT would apply prudent “rules of engagement” concerning the private use of public cell phone service by their civil servants we would realize the saving of enough tax dollars to procure at least a couple of 6 cubic yard dump truck loads of gravel.
Here it is, 40 years later, and that project is still not complete.
When I was 5, I helped my grandfather lay a concrete sidewalk from his driveway to his front door. Based on that experience, I'm sure that if given a shovel & left alone, I could have finished that freeway by now.
Send all the illegals home, and we will be back to normal. Less traffic, fewer wrecks and the roads won't wear out as fast.
Good Morning, My FRiends!! I’ve been busy but I’m still around!
You’ve been PUNG!
But this time it is. Perry should be impeached by the Legis.
It’s the legislature that dirverted the funds not Perry.
What the.....
All the toll roads are not making enough money?
Wouldn't that be the feds?--not TXDot. I agree with you that it's a mess! I have a friend who uses "back roads" to drive from New Braunfels to Dallas.
It's been in construction for close to 5 years already. It's probably got 3 or 4 years left. They are adding some badly needed lanes and overpasses - generally "modernizing" about a 18 mile strectch of freeway that was essentially unchanged from the mid-1960's. And even then, it was obsolete for the traffic it carried from the very first day.
It's done in stages. Two of the stages were barely over two miles of freeway, each. Like 2.1 and 2.3 miles, but don't quote me. The low bid for each stage was between 155 and 160 million. Simple math rounds that off to $75 million PER MILE. Of course that's for interstate specs - probably the most expensive way to construct a highway on the planet.
Nonetheless, a little more simple math shows that this 18 miles of freeway is in the neighborhood of 1.5 billion, all by itself. Now I agree with everyone that diverting this money to bike trails, and a few million to upgrade the governor's mansion all takes away from the bottom line. But let's look at the big picture. Losing a few million here and there, when we need untold billions to build, maintain, and expand our roads is a rounding error.
I moved to San Antonio in 1968; during Hemisfair. At that time, there was already, well underway, a highway project to widen I-35 from 2 lanes to 3, between SA & Austin (apx 70 miles).
Here it is, 40 years later, and that project is still not complete.
TXDOT does a 6 - 8 mile section which takes 3 yrs or more to complete then moves to the next 6-8 mile section and the process repeats. At their pace it takes forever to complete a long section of highway.
Governor and first lady set to move into $1 million home TEXAS ^
Yup. Noted on FR. What a jerk. I sure am glad I didn't vote for him.
It's the only way to travel IMO. Prettier drive too, though you have to watch out for the speed traps.
Bump! I voted for him too.
Trans-Texas Corridor PING!
The THIEVES have apparently won when it comes to diverting highway funds.
But the creeps (and even as a Marylander, I still can objectively call these critters creeps) have been stealing and pork-barreling to the tune of 1.5 billion. That’s considerably MORE than just a rounding error.
Well TDOT just spent big bucks on thish shindig in Denver
https://www.regonline.com/custImages/245809/STD%20GPIC%2004%2030%2007%20in%20Word.doc
Hey ads cost money man. As an advertising wing of the Texas government TxDot has a tough enough jobs without having to spend on roads. We shouldn’t be too hard on them
Perry spends over a quarter million in gas taxes for his own security
BTTT
This little tidbit exemplifies their underhanded tactics.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1903817/posts For you Austin area FReepers, if you've ever taken 183 north and tried to avoid the toll road, (going through Ceder Park) you will see what I mean. It's not only a bottleneck but, down right dangerous.
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