Posted on 01/20/2008 8:05:01 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
The Texas Department of Transportation says it can't afford to build new roads without more funds, but a Panhandle lawmaker called the move an attempt to hold projects for ransom.
TxDOT argues costs have skyrocketed and federal and state lawmakers have diverted millions to other priorities, Amarillo District Engineer Mark Tomlinson said.
State legislators moved more than $1.5 billion from the 2008-09 state highway fund for other missions, he said.
So TxDOT must cut $1.1 billion from its 2008-09 construction budget and focus on maintenance of the state's 79,000 miles of existing roadways, Tomlinson said.
Next week, Tomlinson will list projects for Amarillo Metropolitan Planning Organization's Policy Advisory Committee that could be delayed due to budget shortfall. The meeting will be at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in Room 306 at Amarillo City Hall, 509 S.E. Seventh Ave.
"He's going to give them no financial information and essentially ransom local projects for increased appropriations from local legislators," said state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo.
Seliger said he came away frustrated from a December meeting of the Panhandle legislative delegation, Tomlinson and other TxDOT staff.
"How can we discuss finances for TxDOT when all they do is say, 'We're short on cash flow and these are the projects in your districts that may be canceled or delayed,'" Seliger said.
The lawmaker labeled TxDOT's moratorium on new roads an attempt to scare voters into accepting projects such as the controversial $200 billion Trans Texas Corridor, a superhighway that would cut a wide swath across East Texas.
Seliger also called the moratorium an attempt to muddy the waters as the Texas Legislature scrutinizes the department's books in a sunset review set to culminate in the 2009 session.
"I don't think there's any motives here other than to continue to try to educate the public and our legislators about our financial situation and then work with them as they try to make decisions," Tomlinson responded. "We can't change the tax structure, as an agency. And we also shouldn't be letting people think everything's fine, and it isn't."
Meanwhile, delays can pile up, he said.
For example, the relocation of a segment of Loop 335 from busy Soncy Road to undeveloped land to the west could begin even later than its targeted 2017 start, he said. The project involves carving a new path for Loop 335 from Southwest Ninth Avenue to Southwest 45th Avenue.
"It will be a big issue in the future that you don't have a means to divert traffic around the community," said city manager Alan Taylor, who chairs the MPO's Policy Advisory Committee.
"From our standpoint, you get a little worried when you've got that amount of traffic. It's a hazardous cargo route."
When projects are delayed, development and inflation continue, making it difficult and costly to acquire logical routes and increasing the price of construction, Taylor said.
The state's gasoline tax stands at 20 cents per gallon and fuels TxDOT funding.
"Will the public go for another 5, 10 cents a gallon if they knew it would ensure there was money for roads in their part of Texas? I don't know," Taylor said.
Trans-Texas Corridor PING!
BTTT
Simple Solution #1: Hire an undercover investigator. Have him observe all the offices and work crews of the TxDOT. Fire all worker level employees who are not working during their normal working hours. Fire all office supervisory personnel (paper pushers). Roll the payroll of these people in to roads projects.
Repeat in all other govt offices.
Simple solution, toll roads for West Texas. Seems to have worked for the largest cities in the state. /sarc
Add 5 cents to the gas tax and tell Education to figure out another way to get money. Should be more than enough.
Trouble is the State and Local auth. never cease to look for new ways to tax us. Nor do they ever appear honest in their attempts.
If Amarillo has problem with their highway projects, let Amarillians pay more taxes. In my west Texas county we already pay nearly $0.75 per $100 valuation. Potter and Randal Counties (Amarillo) pay only about $0.60 and $0.35, respectively.
Lies vs. truth is more like it.
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