Free Republic

A Spanish toll-road operator won the bidding war to operate the Pennsylvania Turnpike, offering $12.8 billion for a 75-year lease, Gov. Rendell said today. The proposal by Abertis Infraestructuras, of Barcelona, must be approved by the Pennsylvania legislature, and legislative leaders in Harrisburg have said the plan faces tough sledding with lawmakers. In making the largest bid ever for the private operation of a U.S. toll road, Abertis partnered with a subsidiary of U.S. investment bank Citigroup, and Spanish investment firm Criteria CaixaCorp. Abertis operates toll roads in Spain, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Argentina and Puerto Rico. The company...

SACRAMENTO - In his first direct responses, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger defended dumping his brother-in-law Bobby Shriver and actor Clint Eastwood from the state Parks and Recreation Commission - a step critics allege was taken in retaliation for their opposition to a six-lane toll road through San Onofre State Park. Led by Shriver and Eastwood, the appointed and unpaid commission has been an outspoken opponent of the toll road, claiming that super highways have no place in state parks. There also are worries that it could irreparably damage a renowned surfing area called Trestles. In an interview with the Orange County...

Take your pick. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger either felt the need for “fresh legs” on the state Park & Recreation Commission or was in the mood for political payback. Whatever his true sentiments, his staff notified his brother-in-law Bobby Shriver and actor Clint Eastwood on Monday that they were no longer needed as state park commissioners. Shriver, 53, a Democrat and brother of First Lady Maria Shriver, and Eastwood, 77, a Republican and former mayor of Carmel, were first appointed to the advisory commission by Gov. Gray Davis in 2001. Three years later, Schwarzenegger reappointed both of them to four-year terms....

Ladies and Gentleman, Michael Parks gave this same presentation to Judge Shifflet at commisoners court on November 14, 2007 to a room full of concerned residents including myself, most of whom, were and still are opposed to this corridor for more than one reason. Throughout the meeting, Mr. Parks stated that Brazos County was in favor of it, and were welcoming it, while the majority of Grimes County residents were telling him Brazos County could have it. Mr. Parks and Brazos county welcomed it allright, right through the middle of our Dear and beautiful county, (no where near Brazos County)...

Three private groups are now in the hunt to build U.S. 281 toll lanes, but two big foreign companies competing just a short while ago to build and lease a larger toll network here have dropped out. The Alamo Regional Mobility Authority board voted Wednesday to let all three teams submit plans to rebuild U.S. 281 north of Loop 1604 into a tollway with free access roads by 2012. It's the fledging agency's first project. "Goodness knows we have been two and a half years getting here," board member Bob Thompson said. "Maybe it's even more important to see the...

WASHINGTON – A cash crunch is fast approaching for the government trust fund that pays to build and repair highways and bridges. The federal tax on a gallon of gas has not risen in 14 years and Congress is reluctant to increase it. People are demanding more fuel-efficient vehicles – less gasoline used, fewer dollars for the fund. States already are looking for other places for road-building money – toll road and consumption-based sales taxes, for example. They worry that the fund's looming shortage could hurt their efforts to address traffic congestion as well as environmental and safety problems caused...

Opposition is mounting against a proposal by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels for a private investor to design and build a 75-mile tolled loop around Indianapolis. About 300 people met last week in Martinsville, IN, according to one of the toll road opponents, Steve Bonney of West Lafayette, IN. More meetings are scheduled to take place later this week. Bonney was one of the plaintiffs last year who files a lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of Daniels’ “Major Moves” transportation plan, which included the 75-year lease of the Indiana Toll Road to private investors. Bonney and others are on record on...

Few things are duller than a committee meeting in the interim between legislative sessions. Witnesses drone on about policy choices involving arcane issues. Some of the committees exist only for a short duration and will vanish once the legislative session begins in January. The media almost never shows up for these meetings, which explains why the November 28 meeting of the Study Commission on Transportation Financing received virtually no attention. But a few minutes into the hearing, David Ellis, a co-author of a report by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) at Texas A&M, dropped a bombshell on the commission. He...

If Gov. Mitch Daniels’ plan to build a tollway on the far outskirts of Indianapolis wins legislative approval, land-use experts said the highway would likely be challenged by landowners unwilling to have their land swallowed up for the project. The bypass, dubbed the Indiana Commerce Connector, would cut about 75 miles through five counties east and south of Indianapolis, altering the landscapes of those largely rural areas. Eminent domain — the government’s seizure of private land — almost certainly would have to be used to acquire land for the tollway, which would be built and operated by a private company....

Southern sector's piece of the doughnut Good news for southern Dallas and the south suburbs, which have long clamored for greater attention to their highway needs. Cintra-Zachary, a consortium of Spanish and San Antonio companies, has notified the state transportation department that it wants to build the east-west Loop 9 tollroad project. Next step is a detailed proposal. Loop 9 eventually could be a segment of the proposed Big Doughnut super-outer-loop that would hook into the state's plan for the Trans Texas Corridor.

Super Slab, the proposed 210-mile long road curving through Colorado's eastern plains from Fort Collins to Pueblo, has been reborn as the $2.5 billion "Prairie Falcon Parkway Express." The Front Range Toll Road Ltd., doing business as the Prairie Falcon Parkway Express Company, announced Monday it has filed a new corridor plan with the Colorado Secretary of State's office. The company is sending official notices via certified mail to owners of property along the project's path, said spokesman Jason Hopfer. About 4,000 notices were mailed, although the company figures there's only about 2,000 individual property owners -- some owning more...

After missing a deadline, the U.S. Department of Commerce finally has granted a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain complete disclosure of a congressionally unauthorized plan to implement a trilateral agreement with Mexico and Canada that critics say could lead to a EU-style alliance in North America. The plan is being implemented through an office within the Department of Commerce called the "Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America," under the direction of Geri Word, who is listed as working in the agency's North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, office.As WorldNetDaily previously reported, the White House has established...

Robert Pastor intends to give away U.S. sovereignty to a newly forming North American Union exactly as he gave away the Panama Canal to Panama during Jimmy Carter’s presidency.As we are taught in grade school, George Washington is the Father of our nation. If the North American Union comes into existence as the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) asserts, then we all better get prepared for a new hero. Robert Pastor is the person most likely to be proclaimed the father of the North American Union, a designation consistent with his decades-long history of viewing U.S. national interests through the...

6/13/2006 12:00:00 PM State defends highway plan in court Mike Smith AP political writer INDIANAPOLIS — The planned lease of the Indiana Toll Road to a private partnership meets state constitutional muster and should not be scuttled by litigation from opponents, the state said in a brief to the Indiana Supreme Court. The opponents — which include seven individuals and the Citizens Action Coalition — want the justices to overturn a May 26 ruling by St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Michael Scopelitis. He indicated that he did not believe the plaintiffs had much of a case against the lease and...

An environmental impact study released Tuesday indicates the most likely route of the Trans-Texas Corridor will travel east of Dallas, but a new rail proposition could bring TTC-35 infrastructure to East Parker County as well. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, the narrowed eastern study area was identified as the preferred corridor alternative because it best supports the purpose and need for TTC-35. “The ultimate goal of TTC-35 is to relieve traffic congestion on Interstate 35,” said Gabriela Garcia, TxDOT public affairs specialist. The east corridor alternative also incorporates the most miles of existing highways and rail – 195...

Richard Gephardt, the former congressional leader and two-time presidential candidate, recently dropped by California's Capitol to chat with a fellow Democrat, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata. The subject was not politics but private toll roads, according to people familiar with the meeting. Gephardt works for Goldman Sachs, the investment bank that is making millions advising Chicago and Indiana on how to sell toll roads to private companies. That idea, largely resisted in California, is now back on center stage here as part of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $222-billion proposal to revamp roads, levees and schools across the state. His plan...

PORTAGE | Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission members quizzed three top Indiana transportation officials for two hours Thursday on the controversial Indiana Toll Road lease. They received firm answers to some questions that allayed some fears. But answers to others only heightened apprehensions. "Our concern is what happens to the next generation and the next generation," said NIRPC chairman Kevin Breitzke. "Will they be cussing at us?" For some questions, INDOT Director of Planning John Weaver admitted the answer simply won't be known until legislation is passed, public rule making is done or the lease signed. "It's a work in...

By Associated Press May 6, 2005, 8:20 AM EDT AUSTIN, Texas -- Turns out Willie Nelson didn't want his name on a Texas road after all. A state legislator had proposed naming a stretch of Texas Highway 130, part of the Central Texas Turnpike Project, in honor of the Texas country music singer. But two senators objected, saying they didn't want the sections of the road that run through their districts named after Nelson. State Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos agreed to pull Nelson's name off those sections, then withdrew the entire bill last week.

Two camera-equipped vans will begin patrolling highway work zones in July, snapping images of drivers violating the 45 m.p.h posted speed limit, officials of the Illinois Department of Transportation announced today. The vans will patrol expressway and tollway construction and maintenance zones. Signs will warn drivers of the photo radar system, which will take a picture of the offending driver, his or her vehicle and record the vehicle's speed, officials said. Drivers captured on camera will be sent a ticket in the mail. Work zone speeding fines increased last year to a $375 penalty on the first offense, almost double...

Soon, when Texans are 'on the road again' will be able to drive their favorite red headed stranger down the Willie Nelson Turnpike, 1200 WOAI news reported today. Although the road won't go anywhere near Luckenbach Texas, State Senator Gonzalo Barrientos has introduced a measure to name a portion of State Highway 130, the so called "I-35 Bypass" toll road now under construction between Georgetown north of Austin to Interstate 10 east of San Antonio, in honor of the legendary singer. Specifically, Barrientos' bill would name the portion of State Highway 130 that passes through Travis and Williamson counties ,...

State approves bid for I-35 toll alternative Spanish group led by Cintra and Zachry would pay for $6 billion of turnpikes, and give state a $1.2 billion concession payment. By Ben Wear AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF The Texas Transportation Commission, not prone to staring at the mouths of gift horses, today chose a consortium to build an alternative to Interstate 35 that pledges to construct most of that road on its own dime. Actually, the partnership led by Spanish tollroad operator Cintra and Zachry Construction corporation would spend $6 billion worth of its dimes to lay down a four-lane toll road from...

<p>State transportation officials said they need to start charging drivers who use Interstate 95, one of the most heavily traveled interstates on the East Coast.</p> <p>Officials want to install six toll plazas along the interstate in North Carolina. Officials propose to charge $3 at each plaza, which means it could cost $18 to travel in North Carolina on I-95 from the Virginia border to South Carolina.</p>

The Metropolitan Transit Authority will have space for a rail line in the middle of a widened Katy Freeway, officials involved in the $1 billion expansion project said Tuesday. But Metro President and CEO Shirley DeLibero said such a rail line depends on two very big ifs -- voter approval and federal dollars. To date, House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, has blocked federal funding to Metro for rail. "Without federal funding, we can't build anything," DeLibero said. Under a tentative agreement by the agencies involved, Metro would pay the state $5 million for reinforcements to support future trains,...