"The cost could really add up for North Texas drivers."
State gives region toll deadline
Sat, Mar. 04, 2006
By GORDON DICKSON
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Copyright 2006
Salary caps are common in pro sports.
So why not cap how much can be charged on toll roads?
Metroplex leaders are talking behind the scenes about what kinds of tolls they’ll accept in the future, as private companies step forward to build toll roads to relieve traffic on overcrowded, underfunded freeways.
State officials have given the Regional Transportation Council until April 16 to devise guidelines.
“Before the Texas Department of Transportation can negotiate any further with these private companies, a regionally supported toll structure is crucial,” agency spokeswoman Jodi Hodges said. She said proposed toll roads on Texas 161 east of Arlington and Texas 121 in Collin County, and toll/car pool lanes on LBJ Freeway in Dallas, cannot be awarded to contractors until the RTC takes action.
“The private sector doesn’t get to arbitrarily set toll rates,” she said. “That’s something negotiated in a contract.”
The RTC will also be allowed to choose between private companies or the North Texas Tollway Authority, a government-backed agency that typically charges tolls only high enough to pay its debts, currently about 10 cents a mile.
Private companies, on the other hand, like to charge whatever the market will bear — and in a metro area as congested as the Metroplex, that could someday mean $1 a mile or more.
The cost could really add up for North Texas drivers, who likely will be asked to pay tolls on most new roads. Toll express lane projects are planned for Airport Freeway, Northeast Loop 820, Interstate 35W and the Grapevine funnel. The Southwest Parkway toll road in Fort Worth is expected to open in 2010.
State officials would prefer privately run toll roads because companies often are willing to pay billions of dollars upfront in exchange for the rights to collect tolls for 40 to 70 years. But, to ease fears that drivers could be gouged by higher tolls, state officials say they are willing to let the RTC pick between private bidders and the tollway authority on a case-by-case basis.
The hitch is, the RTC has to state in writing what its toll thresholds are, so private companies know what they’re getting into when they submit bids. And, RTC members must agree to select the “best value” for a road project, and not just pick the tollway authority, whose members are appointed by area county commissions, for political convenience.
The region could lose highway money if area leaders cannot figure out a way to make the roads pay for themselves with tolls, plus bring in a little extra for other highway projects, according to a letter to the RTC by the Transportation Department’s Fort Worth engineer Maribel Chavez and Dallas engineer Bill Hale.
One option may be to allow higher tolls during rush hours and lower tolls during less congested times of day, said Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments. He said that strategy might work for private companies and the tollway authority.
“If you change the rates during peak periods, there’s a chance people will car-pool,” he said. “We’re going to have to strike a balance between enhancing the revenues from toll roads but not get away from our ... principles.”
- -
“Before the Texas Department of Transportation can negotiate any further ... a regionally supported toll structure is crucial.”
- — Jodi Hodges, highway department spokeswoman - - Gordon Dickson, (817) 685-3816 gdickson@star-telegram.com
© 2006 Fort Worth Star-Telegram: www.dfw.com
Sat, Mar. 04, 2006
By GORDON DICKSON
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Copyright 2006
Salary caps are common in pro sports.
So why not cap how much can be charged on toll roads?
Metroplex leaders are talking behind the scenes about what kinds of tolls they’ll accept in the future, as private companies step forward to build toll roads to relieve traffic on overcrowded, underfunded freeways.
State officials have given the Regional Transportation Council until April 16 to devise guidelines.
“Before the Texas Department of Transportation can negotiate any further with these private companies, a regionally supported toll structure is crucial,” agency spokeswoman Jodi Hodges said. She said proposed toll roads on Texas 161 east of Arlington and Texas 121 in Collin County, and toll/car pool lanes on LBJ Freeway in Dallas, cannot be awarded to contractors until the RTC takes action.
“The private sector doesn’t get to arbitrarily set toll rates,” she said. “That’s something negotiated in a contract.”
The RTC will also be allowed to choose between private companies or the North Texas Tollway Authority, a government-backed agency that typically charges tolls only high enough to pay its debts, currently about 10 cents a mile.
Private companies, on the other hand, like to charge whatever the market will bear — and in a metro area as congested as the Metroplex, that could someday mean $1 a mile or more.
The cost could really add up for North Texas drivers, who likely will be asked to pay tolls on most new roads. Toll express lane projects are planned for Airport Freeway, Northeast Loop 820, Interstate 35W and the Grapevine funnel. The Southwest Parkway toll road in Fort Worth is expected to open in 2010.
State officials would prefer privately run toll roads because companies often are willing to pay billions of dollars upfront in exchange for the rights to collect tolls for 40 to 70 years. But, to ease fears that drivers could be gouged by higher tolls, state officials say they are willing to let the RTC pick between private bidders and the tollway authority on a case-by-case basis.
The hitch is, the RTC has to state in writing what its toll thresholds are, so private companies know what they’re getting into when they submit bids. And, RTC members must agree to select the “best value” for a road project, and not just pick the tollway authority, whose members are appointed by area county commissions, for political convenience.
The region could lose highway money if area leaders cannot figure out a way to make the roads pay for themselves with tolls, plus bring in a little extra for other highway projects, according to a letter to the RTC by the Transportation Department’s Fort Worth engineer Maribel Chavez and Dallas engineer Bill Hale.
One option may be to allow higher tolls during rush hours and lower tolls during less congested times of day, said Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments. He said that strategy might work for private companies and the tollway authority.
“If you change the rates during peak periods, there’s a chance people will car-pool,” he said. “We’re going to have to strike a balance between enhancing the revenues from toll roads but not get away from our ... principles.”
- -
“Before the Texas Department of Transportation can negotiate any further ... a regionally supported toll structure is crucial.”
- — Jodi Hodges, highway department spokeswoman - - Gordon Dickson, (817) 685-3816 gdickson@star-telegram.com
© 2006 Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Saturday, March 04, 2006
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