Regional Transportation Council may put off decision to accept NTTA proposal
Move on 121 toll plan may be put off
Panel could seek time to compare agency's proposal, private bids
February 9, 2006
By TONY HARTZEL
The Dallas Morning News
Copyright 2006
It's a case of showing up for a party and finding out it's been postponed.
That's the scenario that could be facing many local mayors and politicians today, when regional transportation leaders meet to decide whether to accept a North Texas Tollway Authority proposal to place tolls on State Highway 121.
Collin County leaders have strongly supported a plan by the tollway authority that would give virtually all the money raised on the state-owned road to the Texas Department of Transportation for the next 50 years.
That pledge, which breaks with the agency's practice of using the revenue for other toll roads, could mean a bonanza for local roads – at least $500 million in present value but possibly as much as $1 billion.
But instead of deciding on the tollway authority's plan, a seemingly divided Regional Transportation Council, whose 40 appointed members come mostly from elected positions throughout North Texas, may put off a decision for months to look at other plans by private companies.
"I expect them to press pretty hard ... for a decision," said David Blair Jr., chairman of the tollway authority board.
In addition to the tollway authority's plan, four private consortia have bid to build a Highway 121 toll road in Denton and Collin counties, stretching from Central Expressway in McKinney to west of Interstate 35E in Lewisville.
Because the consortia have worked under a separate process, the state is not scheduled to determine the best of those proposals until November.
Without a direct comparison, it will be difficult to say whether the tollway authority's proposal stacks up to the private proposals, said Bill Hale, the Dallas district engineer for the Texas Department of Transportation.
"From what I know at this moment, I don't have enough information," he said Tuesday afternoon.
By Wednesday afternoon, the state had received more information, but Mr. Hale, a member of the Regional Transportation Council, who was evaluating the new information, could not be reached for further comment.
The tollway authority has responded to the state's questions, said executive director Allan Rutter.
"We feel very good about the proposal we made. It's very good for the region," he said. "Many of the issues that are being asked about can be, should be and will be dealt with in a formal agreement with TxDOT."
Construction on the Collin County toll road would not be affected under either the tollway authority plan or a private company's bid. Because new environmental approvals are required to convert it to a toll road, construction could not begin until mid- to late 2007.
The competing proposals raise the same question posed to people who buy lottery tickets: Is it better to take a lump-sum payment or spread revenue over a number of years? The tollway authority's proposal would pay over time, while the private companies are expected to offer a large upfront payment.
The tollway authority proposal guarantees $2.7 billion over 50 years, a figure that is worth $500 million in today's dollars. Using adjusted but still conservative assumptions, the road could raise another $2.7 billion for other road projects in 50 years.
Figuring for inflation, Mr. Rutter said, the value of the tollway authority's offer is "almost exactly identical" to a rough outline of what a private company would offer in a lump-sum payment. And while private companies' profits could vary, the tollway authority offer caps the revenue it keeps at about $100 million over 50 years, Mr. Rutter said.
"We felt like it was better to get it over time than up front," said Mayor Mike Simpson of Frisco, where the City Council voted, 5-1, on Tuesday to support the tollway authority proposal.
But decades of annual payments do not help with the region's current pressing needs, Mr. Hale said. "It's better to build projects now than to wait 20 to 30 years," he said.
E-mail thartzel@dallasnews.com
© 2006 The Dallas Morning News Co www.dallasnews.com
Panel could seek time to compare agency's proposal, private bids
February 9, 2006
By TONY HARTZEL
The Dallas Morning News
Copyright 2006
It's a case of showing up for a party and finding out it's been postponed.
That's the scenario that could be facing many local mayors and politicians today, when regional transportation leaders meet to decide whether to accept a North Texas Tollway Authority proposal to place tolls on State Highway 121.
Collin County leaders have strongly supported a plan by the tollway authority that would give virtually all the money raised on the state-owned road to the Texas Department of Transportation for the next 50 years.
That pledge, which breaks with the agency's practice of using the revenue for other toll roads, could mean a bonanza for local roads – at least $500 million in present value but possibly as much as $1 billion.
But instead of deciding on the tollway authority's plan, a seemingly divided Regional Transportation Council, whose 40 appointed members come mostly from elected positions throughout North Texas, may put off a decision for months to look at other plans by private companies.
"I expect them to press pretty hard ... for a decision," said David Blair Jr., chairman of the tollway authority board.
In addition to the tollway authority's plan, four private consortia have bid to build a Highway 121 toll road in Denton and Collin counties, stretching from Central Expressway in McKinney to west of Interstate 35E in Lewisville.
Because the consortia have worked under a separate process, the state is not scheduled to determine the best of those proposals until November.
Without a direct comparison, it will be difficult to say whether the tollway authority's proposal stacks up to the private proposals, said Bill Hale, the Dallas district engineer for the Texas Department of Transportation.
"From what I know at this moment, I don't have enough information," he said Tuesday afternoon.
By Wednesday afternoon, the state had received more information, but Mr. Hale, a member of the Regional Transportation Council, who was evaluating the new information, could not be reached for further comment.
The tollway authority has responded to the state's questions, said executive director Allan Rutter.
"We feel very good about the proposal we made. It's very good for the region," he said. "Many of the issues that are being asked about can be, should be and will be dealt with in a formal agreement with TxDOT."
Construction on the Collin County toll road would not be affected under either the tollway authority plan or a private company's bid. Because new environmental approvals are required to convert it to a toll road, construction could not begin until mid- to late 2007.
The competing proposals raise the same question posed to people who buy lottery tickets: Is it better to take a lump-sum payment or spread revenue over a number of years? The tollway authority's proposal would pay over time, while the private companies are expected to offer a large upfront payment.
The tollway authority proposal guarantees $2.7 billion over 50 years, a figure that is worth $500 million in today's dollars. Using adjusted but still conservative assumptions, the road could raise another $2.7 billion for other road projects in 50 years.
Figuring for inflation, Mr. Rutter said, the value of the tollway authority's offer is "almost exactly identical" to a rough outline of what a private company would offer in a lump-sum payment. And while private companies' profits could vary, the tollway authority offer caps the revenue it keeps at about $100 million over 50 years, Mr. Rutter said.
"We felt like it was better to get it over time than up front," said Mayor Mike Simpson of Frisco, where the City Council voted, 5-1, on Tuesday to support the tollway authority proposal.
But decades of annual payments do not help with the region's current pressing needs, Mr. Hale said. "It's better to build projects now than to wait 20 to 30 years," he said.
E-mail thartzel@dallasnews.com
© 2006 The Dallas Morning News Co
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