“The constituents in my precinct don’t even want a toll road."
Leaders endorse Tarrant toll lanes
Feb. 09, 2006
By GORDON DICKSON
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Copyright 2006
Regional leaders endorsed private toll express lanes for Tarrant County roads - Interstate 35W, Northeast Loop 820 and Airport Freeway - with almost no discussion Thursday.
Instead, Regional Transportation Council members saved their energy for a vigorous three-hour debate about the proposed Texas 121 toll road in Collin County, and ultimately refused to endorse the North Texas Tollway Authority’s plan to build the road.
RTC members voted with a sharply divided show of hands to wait until later in the year to decide who should build the Collin County toll road in Plano, Frisco, McKinney and Allen. Private sector companies have until November to submit competing bids to the Texas Transportation Department.
Several officials said the vote of no confidence raises questions about whether the tollway authority, which already owns several Dallas-area toll roads and has been selected to build Southwest Parkway in Fort Worth, can continue to serve as the region’s lead agency for toll roads.
Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, said the move was “de facto” support for a privately built road. He and Collin County officials strongly favored the tollway authority’s plan.
But leaders in Denton County, where Texas 121 is under construction and may be leased to a private bidder later this year, led the opposition.
Thursday’s tense meeting came just two weeks after the tollway authority made an unprecedented offer to pay the state at least $500 million over 50 years in exchange for the rights to build and manage the Collin County project. The offer included a promise to keep toll rates comparable to other roads, including the President George Bush Turnpike.
Until recently, the tollway authority was the only practical option to build Metroplex toll roads. But state laws approved in the past five years now make it possible for the private sector to build toll roads and charge market-driven rates, which means potentially much higher tolls for drivers. However, private companies also typically offer large up-front payments - sometimes billions of dollars - as lease payments.
Privatization is a national trend, with about $37 billion already in play, a representative from the Goldman Sachs & Co. financial consulting firm told RTC members. That money, when combined with debt funding, can trigger about $189 billion worth of road construction - much of it in Texas.
Bill Hale, the state transportation department’s Dallas-area engineer, said private firms may offer bigger dollars than the tollway authority can - perhaps $575 million, for the region to use on other road work. The agency “doesn’t care who builds it, they just want to maximize the competition,” he said.
Whether the tollway authority or the private sector builds Texas 121 in Collin County, Hale said, the road is scheduled to open in 2010.
But Collin County Commissioner Jack Hatchell said: “The constituents in my precinct don’t even want a toll road. Our second choice was NTTA. Our citizens don’t want” a private road.
Hale said gas tax funding may not be available for the project until 2037.
Tarrant County Commissioner Glen Whitley urged the RTC to take its time deciding which side to back. He noted that the only reason the RTC is even deciding the fate of Texas 121 in Collin County is because the state transportation department two years ago turned over the decision-making process to the region’s leaders.
“I think what we’re seeing today is, be careful what you ask for because you just might get it,” he said.
Gordon Dickson, (817) 685-3816
gdickson@star-telegram.com
© 2006 Fort Worth Star-Telegram: www.dfw.com
Feb. 09, 2006
By GORDON DICKSON
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Copyright 2006
Regional leaders endorsed private toll express lanes for Tarrant County roads - Interstate 35W, Northeast Loop 820 and Airport Freeway - with almost no discussion Thursday.
Instead, Regional Transportation Council members saved their energy for a vigorous three-hour debate about the proposed Texas 121 toll road in Collin County, and ultimately refused to endorse the North Texas Tollway Authority’s plan to build the road.
RTC members voted with a sharply divided show of hands to wait until later in the year to decide who should build the Collin County toll road in Plano, Frisco, McKinney and Allen. Private sector companies have until November to submit competing bids to the Texas Transportation Department.
Several officials said the vote of no confidence raises questions about whether the tollway authority, which already owns several Dallas-area toll roads and has been selected to build Southwest Parkway in Fort Worth, can continue to serve as the region’s lead agency for toll roads.
Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, said the move was “de facto” support for a privately built road. He and Collin County officials strongly favored the tollway authority’s plan.
But leaders in Denton County, where Texas 121 is under construction and may be leased to a private bidder later this year, led the opposition.
Thursday’s tense meeting came just two weeks after the tollway authority made an unprecedented offer to pay the state at least $500 million over 50 years in exchange for the rights to build and manage the Collin County project. The offer included a promise to keep toll rates comparable to other roads, including the President George Bush Turnpike.
Until recently, the tollway authority was the only practical option to build Metroplex toll roads. But state laws approved in the past five years now make it possible for the private sector to build toll roads and charge market-driven rates, which means potentially much higher tolls for drivers. However, private companies also typically offer large up-front payments - sometimes billions of dollars - as lease payments.
Privatization is a national trend, with about $37 billion already in play, a representative from the Goldman Sachs & Co. financial consulting firm told RTC members. That money, when combined with debt funding, can trigger about $189 billion worth of road construction - much of it in Texas.
Bill Hale, the state transportation department’s Dallas-area engineer, said private firms may offer bigger dollars than the tollway authority can - perhaps $575 million, for the region to use on other road work. The agency “doesn’t care who builds it, they just want to maximize the competition,” he said.
Whether the tollway authority or the private sector builds Texas 121 in Collin County, Hale said, the road is scheduled to open in 2010.
But Collin County Commissioner Jack Hatchell said: “The constituents in my precinct don’t even want a toll road. Our second choice was NTTA. Our citizens don’t want” a private road.
Hale said gas tax funding may not be available for the project until 2037.
Tarrant County Commissioner Glen Whitley urged the RTC to take its time deciding which side to back. He noted that the only reason the RTC is even deciding the fate of Texas 121 in Collin County is because the state transportation department two years ago turned over the decision-making process to the region’s leaders.
“I think what we’re seeing today is, be careful what you ask for because you just might get it,” he said.
Gordon Dickson, (817) 685-3816
gdickson@star-telegram.com
© 2006 Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Friday, February 10, 2006
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