Posted on 06/26/2008 7:20:50 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
AUSTIN -- The second half of the massive Trans Texas Corridor will take a large step toward reality today, when state transportation officials award a $5 million design contract to a team of private toll road operators. The operators will develop a master plan for the portion of the project that will run from Northeast Texas to Houston and then to Mexico – about 650 miles.
The contract will not directly authorize the winning consortium to build any part of the super highway. But it will give the winning bidder a position of power for winning the much larger construction contracts -- almost certainly to be worth billions of dollars – for the toll roads that will make up the super highway. The design contract will give the winning team 12 to 18 months to flesh out a master development plan for the project, which is expected to largely follow the path of the proposed southern extension of Interstate 69.
The two teams competing for the contract are led by subsidiaries of Spanish firms that are among the world's largest toll road operators.
One, called ZAI ACS TTC-69, is run by Texas construction company Zachry American Infrastructure Inc. and ACS Infrastructure Development Inc., perhaps the world's largest toll road developer.
The second, Bluebonnet Infrastructure, is led by Cintra, the Spanish firm that is already developing the master plan for the other half of the Trans Texas Corridor. Cintra last year won the design contract for the segment of the corridor that will run north to south, roughly parallel to Interstate 35. It is also the firm that was initially slated to build State Highway 121 in North Texas.
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
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Trans-Texas Corridor PING!
For state policy, "it shows the difficulty they've been having"
Sure sounds like someone intends to push the serfs aside and do whatever the hell they want.
BTTT
Google: SEOPAN
Turns out no matter which bid the state goes with, it will be a Spanish company.
A trade association with 30 members formed in 1956?
Would it also bother you if a group of major American construction companies got together to promote building and running toll road concessions in Spain?
Seems like the Spanish companies get most of the worlds transportation projects. (from the SEOPAN chart) I’m sure ACS/Zachry will do a wonderful job on I-69. (at least SOME of the monies will stay in the state)
Notice the last paragraph stating there will be no private tolls north of the San Antonio river. (500 from Texarkana)
These companies are very, very experienced at what they do.
Because we’re winning battles in this war.
OK, Pollyanna.
At the rate this thing is getting whittled down, I doubt we'll see it in our lifetimes.
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