Officials seek ways to pay for ballooning Southwest Parkway costs
Sep. 13, 2005
By GORDON DICKSON
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Copyright 2005
Motorists on the planned Southwest Parkway might pay higher tolls than those on other Metroplex toll roads, officials say.
A higher rate would be one way to cover the spiraling costs of building the proposed eight-mile road from downtown to southwest Fort Worth, officials say.
In the Dallas area, motorists pay 75 cents in cash or 60 cents with a TollTag to drive through the main toll plazas. The Southwest Parkway is tentatively scheduled to open in 2010.
In June, the North Texas Tollway Authority dismayed its partners, Fort Worth and the Texas Department of Transportation, by announcing that the cost of the road had ballooned to $825 million, four times the original estimate.
Some advocates say that because of the cost, the tollway authority will back off the project and concentrate on toll roads in the Dallas area.
Allan Rutter, the tollway authority's executive director, has insisted that the agency still wants to build the Southwest Parkway. He will unveil funding options Wednesday during a board meeting beginning at 9 a.m. at 5900 W. Plano Parkway in Plano.
Cutting corners on the Southwest Parkway isn't acceptable, board member Bill Meadows of Fort Worth said. "Does that mean it might cost a little more in the end? Yeah, I think it might," he said.
ONLINE: North Texas Tollway Authority, www.ntta.org
Gordon Dickson, (817) 685-3816 gdickson@star-telegram.com
Fort Worth Star-Telegram: www.dfw.com
Sep. 13, 2005
By GORDON DICKSON
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Copyright 2005
Motorists on the planned Southwest Parkway might pay higher tolls than those on other Metroplex toll roads, officials say.
A higher rate would be one way to cover the spiraling costs of building the proposed eight-mile road from downtown to southwest Fort Worth, officials say.
In the Dallas area, motorists pay 75 cents in cash or 60 cents with a TollTag to drive through the main toll plazas. The Southwest Parkway is tentatively scheduled to open in 2010.
In June, the North Texas Tollway Authority dismayed its partners, Fort Worth and the Texas Department of Transportation, by announcing that the cost of the road had ballooned to $825 million, four times the original estimate.
Some advocates say that because of the cost, the tollway authority will back off the project and concentrate on toll roads in the Dallas area.
Allan Rutter, the tollway authority's executive director, has insisted that the agency still wants to build the Southwest Parkway. He will unveil funding options Wednesday during a board meeting beginning at 9 a.m. at 5900 W. Plano Parkway in Plano.
Cutting corners on the Southwest Parkway isn't acceptable, board member Bill Meadows of Fort Worth said. "Does that mean it might cost a little more in the end? Yeah, I think it might," he said.
ONLINE: North Texas Tollway Authority, www.ntta.org
Gordon Dickson, (817) 685-3816 gdickson@star-telegram.com
Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Tuesday, September 13, 2005
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