http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/i35/ en-us Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:42:45 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2037568/posts AUSTIN — The Texas Transportation Commission on Thursday selected San Antonio's Zachry Construction Corp. and a Spanish toll road developer to plan a superhighway from Texarkana to Brownsville. The $5 million contract calls for Zachry American Infrastructure and ACS Infrastructure to create a financial plan for the Interstate 69 segment of the Trans-Texas Corridor. "This team represents the best in the balance of local and global expertise necessary to complete a project of this scope," said David Zachry, chief operating officer of Zachry Construction Corp. The private developers' plan calls for seven new loops around Corpus Christi and other cities... The Houston Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2037568/posts#comment Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:42:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031727/posts Drivers who get safely off Interstate 35E after arriving in Dallas from Austin or San Antonio have a certain look of relief – like they just outran a buffalo stampede. Only on I-35, the stampede is trucks. The white-knuckle experience helps make the case for some kind of reliever road, even a tolled one. Making that same case has been a harder sell for U.S. highways along the Gulf Coast and East Texas. Drivers there can judge their own level of congestion, and they have insisted that their mostly rural corridor doesn't warrant the major undertaking of a parallel turnpike.... The Dallas Morning News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031727/posts#comment Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:54:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2024595/posts Members of the Collin County Commissioners Court are entering unknown waters in the area of transportation. They need to make sure they don't get in over their heads. At issue is their recent vote to explore formation of the county's own tollway agency, which could compete with the North Texas Tollway Authority for future road projects. Exploration, fine. Given the scarcity of road-building dollars, exploring alternative ways of paying for highways and seeking fair treatment for Collin County makes sense. As County Judge Keith Self puts it, "We need to educate ourselves." As Commissioner Joe Jaynes puts it, "We owe... The Dallas Morning News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2024595/posts#comment Mon, 2 Jun 2008 01:25:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2024267/posts State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst said it’s time for Texas transportation officials to talk about real reforms to address the public outrage over the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor. The Brenham Republican’s reaction followed Thursday’s actions taken by the Texas Transportation Commission. The panel adopted a set of guiding principals and policies which will govern the development, construction and operation of all toll road projects on the state highway system and the controversial Trans-Texas Corridor. Bob Colwell, Texas Department of Transportation public information officer for the Bryan district, said the adoption of the guidelines does not reflect the final approval of Interstate 69... The Huntsville Item http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2024267/posts#comment Sun, 1 Jun 2008 04:22:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017476/posts Earth Tech Inc. has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract to provide environmental services to Central Texas Highway Constructors, LLC (CTxHC). Earth Tech, the lead planning and engineering firm for Cintra Zachry, LP on the Trans-Texas Corridor 35 (TTC-35) project, was approved by CTxHC for environmental work on Segments 5 and 6 of the SH 130 highway project. The SH 130 project is the first facility to be developed under the TTC-35 Comprehensive Development Agreement. An integral part of the preparation for highway construction, the project includes site assessments, hazardous materials clean-ups, remediation, and other environmental services. A private-public partnership,... Construction and Maintenance News (Belarus) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017476/posts#comment Sat, 17 May 2008 22:46:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016270/posts Taylor-area residents Dan and Margaret Byfield hope to become the Trans-Texas Corridor’s worst nightmare. The married couple head up two land rights organizations, the American Land Foundation and Stewards of the Range, that aim to keep rural communities from having land encroached upon by state and federal agencies through eminent domain. Both organizations operate across the U.S., in Wyoming, California, Colorado, South Dakota and Nebraska, but their current main goal is to challenge TxDOT in hopes of completely eliminating proposals for the quarter-mile wide superhighway. Currently they offer advice to residents of small towns and rural communities on how to... Taylor Daily Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016270/posts#comment Thu, 15 May 2008 12:41:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009052/posts He says he is — seriously devoted to building and maintaining highways. But he is just as devoted to fencing state government into fiscal straits that make these goals impossible without privatizing highways through tolls. Perry last week said that going full-bore with toll roads is the only way for Texas to build new highways. That’s not so. The history of Texas tells us it’s not. Toll roads have their function without question. But so do bonds. So does a gasoline tax that has not kept pace with inflation. So does a reexamination of how Texas funds highways in general... The Waco Tribune-Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009052/posts#comment Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:28:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2008559/posts Each day, I make the dreaded drive down Interstate 35 to go to work in Fort Worth. Each day, I slug through the snarl and sludge of ceaseless traffic, which intensifies my growing desire to commit hari-kari, or at least incites a vehement curse of the highway gods. Certainly, we in Texas need more lanes, more roads, more rails, more something to deal with the ever-expanding urban population and growing international commerce. Yet how do we solve our transportation needs without carving up the countryside like some congratulatory cake? Or should the construction of a superhighway-rail-utility corridor even concern us?... Quarter Horse News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2008559/posts#comment Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:29:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2006803/posts AUSTIN — Maybe Texas’ transportation problems are a lot simpler to understand than recent fights over toll roads make it seem, North Texas leaders told state senators Wednesday. “My first recommendation: You need to provide a lot more revenue for transportation,” Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, told the Texas Senate transportation committee. That was hardly the only suggestion from Mr. Morris or the many others who spoke to the committee, which is seeking input as it readies an approach on toll roads, TxDOT and more for the next legislative session. But it might... The Dallas Morning News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2006803/posts#comment Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:13:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998902/posts As the state's population continues to grow in its urban centers, expansion plans for the highway system continue to be the focus for transportation improvements. The Trans Texas Corridor proposal is aimed to alleviate traffic congestion, improve air quality and provide safer traveling for drivers, among other goals. In 2002, Texas Governor Rick Perry released the plan to create the passageway, which spans northeast from Laredo to Oklahoma and is set to total 4,000 miles in the next 50 years. The $140 billion project calls for the incorporation of new toll roads, commuter railways, power lines and gas pipelines, while... The Lariat Online (Baylor University) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998902/posts#comment Wed, 9 Apr 2008 12:10:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998520/posts Several Oklahoma legislators are concerned that individuals and organizations are quietly working on plans to create a privately-operated tollway in Oklahoma. Many referred to Spain-based Cintra, which has been involved in the development of a proposed Trans-Texas Corridor. Cintra also took over the operation of the Indiana East-West Toll Road from the Indiana Department of Transportation in 2006. Oklahoma State Sen. Randy Brogdon and state representatives Eric Proctor, Richard Morrisette, Scott Inman and Charles Key all expressed concern that efforts to open up Oklahoma to a privately operated tollway system were being kept out of the view of the general... The Midwest City Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998520/posts#comment Tue, 8 Apr 2008 17:07:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1996657/posts BELTON - There appears to be no easy way to address the challenges that inflation has brought to the Texas Department of Transportation. “We’ve seen 60 percent inflation over the last five years for transportation projects,” said Chris Lippincott, a TxDOT spokesman. To look to the federal government for assistance would appear foolhardy at this point as the Federal Highway Trust Fund is expected to become insolvent by 2009. The fund was created in 1956 to ensure a dependable source of financing for U.S. interstates and highways. “The Federal Highway Trust Fund is expected to go into the red very... The Temple Daily Telegram http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1996657/posts#comment Fri, 4 Apr 2008 14:30:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1995237/posts Lufkin Mayor Jack Gorden has been selected by the Texas Transportation Committee to serve on a citizens' advisory committee for putting together information regarding the proposed Interstate 69/Trans-Texas Corridor. According to Texas Department of Transportation officials, advisory committee members represent a cross-section of community and business leaders, landowners, local transportation experts and others. "Our goal is to enhance the public dialogue and meaningfully involve more Texans in transportation decisions," said Texas Transportation Commission Chair Hope Andrade. "These committees will have an important seat at the table as we work together to shape the future of transportation for our state." Gorden... The Lufkin Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1995237/posts#comment Wed, 2 Apr 2008 00:50:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1994105/posts San Marcos — At her first meeting as part of a citizen advisory committee on the Trans-Texas Corridor, San Marcos Mayor Susan Narvaiz plans to listen before she speaks. “I want to be better educated about where they are now in terms of the timeline,” said Narvaiz, who was appointed to the board by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) on Thursday. “I want to hear from the people who put this together, what their intent was, why they figured their alignment the way they did.” The 18-member committee will advise TxDOT in the planning of TTC-35, which will roughly... The San Marcos Daily Record http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1994105/posts#comment Sun, 30 Mar 2008 20:23:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1993753/posts The Texas Transportation Commission today selected members to serve on two citizens’ advisory committees for the Trans-Texas Corridor. Area residents on the I-35 Corridor Advisory Committee include Karen Marstaller of Waco, Don Greene of Lorena and John Erwin of Hillsboro. Each committee will advise the Texas Department of Transportation in the planning of two priority corridors. One committee will focus on Interstate 35 corridor and TTC-35, while the other committee will advise the department on the proposed Interstate 69 corridor and I-69/TTC. The Corridor Advisory Committees represent a cross-section of community and business leaders, land owners, local transportation experts and... The Waco Tribune-Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1993753/posts#comment Sat, 29 Mar 2008 22:34:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1993038/posts FORT WORTH -- The Trans-Texas Corridor is now so controversial, merely uttering the words in most political circles is taboo. "We're calling it a 'regional loop' because you can't say 'Trans-Texas Corridor' in the state of Texas anymore," said Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments. "The Trans-Texas Corridor is a lightning rod," he told visiting state representatives this week while explaining how the corridor would connect to regional highways by 2030. Opposition to the proposed construction of a $184 billion network of toll roads during the next 50 years is so strong statewide that... The Fort Worth Star-Telegram http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1993038/posts#comment Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:55:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1988516/posts SH 130 Concession Company LLC finalized the legal details of a financial close with Texas DOT on a $1,360m toll concession to build SH130 segments 5&6 Thursday and Friday last week in bankers' offices in New York City - at Orrick, 666 Fifth Avenue. The actual money flows should occur on Thursday or Friday (Mar 13 or 14) this week, Jose Maria Lopez de Fuentes, president of Cintra North America, told us this morning. Hundreds of documents and over 20 lawyers were involved last week representing TxDOT, private equity people, banks, mostly European, the TIFIA loan group from FHWA, and... TOLLROADSnews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1988516/posts#comment Thu, 20 Mar 2008 01:20:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985893/posts Officials with the Spanish toll road operator Cintra have announced that the company has secured $430 million in loans from the U.S. government to build and operate two segments of a toll road in central Texas. Cintra officials announced the company’s financial plan for the $1.36 billion Highway 130 segments on Monday, March 10. OOIDA Senior Government Affairs Representative Mike Joyce told Land Line that the Association does raise red flags when federal dollars are used to subsidize private investors. Officials with the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association are not, however, categorically opposed to a state using future toll revenue to... Land Line Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985893/posts#comment Fri, 14 Mar 2008 23:23:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1975015/posts HEMPSTEAD -- The Trans Texas Corridor may be the most controversial highway ever built in Texas. That is, if it ever gets built. All month, there have been public hearings throughout the area where people have been showing up in droves to oppose it. People don’t drive very fast on Odis Styers’ family ranch near Hempstead, but TxDOT wants that to change. “It’s quiet, it’s peaceful,” Styers said. “It’s a shame a road is gonna mess it up.” The road is the Trans Texas Corridor. The plans call for it to come through here, and with it: separate lanes for... KHOU.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1975015/posts#comment Sat, 23 Feb 2008 15:17:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1972955/posts TYLER - Heated debates are cropping up in rural East Texas communities as the Texas Department of Transportation hold hearings on the proposed the Trans-Texas Corridor. It's the first construction project of it's kind in the country. The Texas Department of Transportation says they want it to make room for a growing state. "A thousand people a day move to texas," says spokesman Larry Krantz,"where are these people going to drive? The population in Texas is going to explode by 60% in the year 2030." Their plans involve moving commercial trucks off existing interstate highways and onto one of two... KETKNBC.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1972955/posts#comment Tue, 19 Feb 2008 21:37:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1972422/posts AUSTIN - When it comes to road improvement and maintenance, by most accounts, the South Plains and Panhandle are fortunate. Despite a $1.1 billion accounting error, the Texas Department of Transportation recently reported no projects in the region have been canceled or delayed while cities like Dallas, Houston and Laredo had at least a half dozen highway projects delayed. But the $1.1 billion-error, which occurred because TxDOT inadvertently counted some bond money twice and consequently allocated more funding than it had, is just the latest problem plaguing the beleaguered agency. For months, TxDOT executive director Amadeo Saenz and other transportation... Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (Lubbock Online) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1972422/posts#comment Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:33:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1970628/posts A Waller County organization opposing a massive highway project is planning two informational meetings to help citizens prepare for upcoming hearings. Citizens for a Better Waller County (CBWC) says it will hold meetings to prepare residents for Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) hearings in Waller County. The hearings will be to discuss an environmental impact statement on the proposed Trans Texas Corridor’s route that could bring it through Waller, Austin and Washington counties. CBWC’s meetings will be held next Tuesday at the Waller High School cafeteria in Waller and Monday, Feb. 25 at the Brookshire Convention Center in Brookshire. Both... Brenham Banner-Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1970628/posts#comment Fri, 15 Feb 2008 02:07:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1969878/posts HOUSTON -- It did not take long Tuesday for the Texas Department of Transportation to find out what the Houstonians at a public hearing thought about the proposed 600-mile Trans-Texas Corridor, KPRC Local 2 reported. "George Washington, Sam Houston would vomit on you people," one attendee said. Chris Zora, who opposes the plan, attended the hearing at the Arabia Shrine Center in Southwest Houston. "I'd like to see a show of hands here of anybody that approves of this corridor," Zora said. "Is there anyone in this room who approves of this corridor? Raise your hands if you approve of... Click2Houston.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1969878/posts#comment Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:37:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1966651/posts Not one of the 11 East Texans who approached the podium at Wednesday's hearing on Interstate 69 voiced support for the planned highway. "This is highway robbery, and we should not pursue this project," said David Simpson, a Longview resident and fifth-generation Texan. "This process has bypassed the Constitution. It has bypassed the U.S. Congress, and I'm opposed to it because of the unconstitutional way that it has been pushed through." The public hearing, held at Maude Cobb Convention and Activity Center, was a chance for residents to comment and ask questions about Interstate 69/Trans-Texas Corridor. The corridor would extend... Longview News-Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1966651/posts#comment Thu, 7 Feb 2008 21:17:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1961128/posts Gov. Rick Perry's ambitious Trans-Texas Corridor plan, and his advocacy of toll funding for future roads, hit the skids in a skeptical Legislature last spring. The road shows no signs of getting any smoother as state transportation officials try to sell the plan to Houston-area audiences. "This will wipe me out," Dee Bond told a panel of corridor advocates at a town hall meeting in Rosenberg last week. The panel, which included Texas Transportation Commissioner Ned Holmes of Houston and Steve Simmons, deputy executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, was there to explain and gather comment on a... Houston Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1961128/posts#comment Tue, 29 Jan 2008 01:31:44 GMT