Perry and Williamson "seem to think that they can acquire as much land as they want to make the Trans-Texas Corridor as wide as they want."
Editorials:
Plan to relieve I-35 congestion does make sense
April 1, 2006
The Victoria Advocate
Copyright 2006
As noted before in this space, the Victoria Advocate has serious reservations about Gov. Rick Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor.
But one part of the proposal, as The Associated Press describes it, "to build 4,000-plus miles of tollways and railways that would incorporate oil and gas pipelines, utility and water lines, and even broadband data" does make considerable sense.
The state's main north-south thoroughfare, running from the Red River north of Gainesville to Laredo on the Rio Grande, is already badly congested. And because it runs through the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Austin and San Antonio, Interstate 35 can only become more crowded.
Over the past few decades, expanding and upgrading portions of the highway has become a perpetual employment machine for contractors, but they can never fully catch up.
So building an alternate, parallel roadway to I-35, bypassing major metropolitan areas, could relieve congestion, particularly through those large cities. Anyone who commutes to and from work on the interstate running through central Austin, for example, knows just how useful that would be.
A 600-mile toll road roughly paralleling I-35 would be the first stage of the Trans-Texas Corridor. The Texas Transportation Commission in late 2004 contracted with Cintra Zachry, a hybrid Spanish-Texas company, to build and operate the first 300-plus miles of that, from the DFW metroplex to San Antonio.
Now Cintra Zachry proposes building a new high-speed freight rail line in that same corridor. The Transportation Commission proposes that the project also have high-speed passenger rail capability.
"The proposed rail line, which likely would be double-tracked and designed for double- and triple-stacked containers going 70 mph, could cost up to $6 billion to build," Hearst Newspapers reported.
And "without a doubt, there will be a passenger line," Transportation Commission Ric Williamson predicted. "You have to do it in conjunction with other assets."
According to a letter from the company to state transportation officials, Cintra Zachry would use private funding to build new rail lines and recoup the cost from user fees. If the commission moves forward with this railway component of the corridor, other proposals will have to be solicited for it, so Cintra Zachry could face competition.
While the state could not force railroads to use the new tracks, Williamson believes "common sense dictates that if Cintra Zachry builds high-speed freight rail, the railroads will be negotiating with them to get their freight onto that line." The freight trains on those tracks could travel as fast as 70 mph.
Being able to move goods more quickly indeed should be an important incentive for railroads to consider using the new tracks. Bypassing cities - with congested rail lines and at-grade crossings - would offer an additional incentive.
As Cintra Zachry proposes it, the tracks through their entire length would pass "under or over any roads in the way," the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
"There would be no at-grade crossings. None," said Ted Houghton, a Texas Transportation Commission member.
That would be a major safety advantage not just for the railroads, but also for drivers crossing the railway.
As important as those benefits would be, an even bigger one is that the rail project - even without the alternate, parallel roadway - would significantly relieve I-35 congestion.
Commission and company officials estimate that the proposed railway could reduce I-35 traffic by about 2,500 trucks each day - as many as 1 million a year - by providing a quicker and safer way to ship goods within and through Texas.
While we continue to question the need for such a large program as Perry and the Transportation Commission envision the Trans-Texas Corridor becoming and the need for new toll roads, we nonetheless do see real advantages from the portion of it that would relieve congestion and improve safety along I-35.
This railway component of it certainly merits further study - including the required environmental impact assessment. And the Transportation Commission needs to begin discussions with the railroads operating in the vicinity of I-35. Inexplicably, that does not appear to have happened yet.
Finally, the commission and Cintra Zachry have to figure out how to build this project using the least amount of land possible. Perry and the commission seem to think that they can acquire as much land as they want to make the Trans-Texas Corridor as wide as they want. That odd notion could doom even sensible, needed components of the corridor.
© 2006 The Victoria Advocate:www.thevictoriaadvocate.com
Plan to relieve I-35 congestion does make sense
April 1, 2006
The Victoria Advocate
Copyright 2006
As noted before in this space, the Victoria Advocate has serious reservations about Gov. Rick Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor.
But one part of the proposal, as The Associated Press describes it, "to build 4,000-plus miles of tollways and railways that would incorporate oil and gas pipelines, utility and water lines, and even broadband data" does make considerable sense.
The state's main north-south thoroughfare, running from the Red River north of Gainesville to Laredo on the Rio Grande, is already badly congested. And because it runs through the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Austin and San Antonio, Interstate 35 can only become more crowded.
Over the past few decades, expanding and upgrading portions of the highway has become a perpetual employment machine for contractors, but they can never fully catch up.
So building an alternate, parallel roadway to I-35, bypassing major metropolitan areas, could relieve congestion, particularly through those large cities. Anyone who commutes to and from work on the interstate running through central Austin, for example, knows just how useful that would be.
A 600-mile toll road roughly paralleling I-35 would be the first stage of the Trans-Texas Corridor. The Texas Transportation Commission in late 2004 contracted with Cintra Zachry, a hybrid Spanish-Texas company, to build and operate the first 300-plus miles of that, from the DFW metroplex to San Antonio.
Now Cintra Zachry proposes building a new high-speed freight rail line in that same corridor. The Transportation Commission proposes that the project also have high-speed passenger rail capability.
"The proposed rail line, which likely would be double-tracked and designed for double- and triple-stacked containers going 70 mph, could cost up to $6 billion to build," Hearst Newspapers reported.
And "without a doubt, there will be a passenger line," Transportation Commission Ric Williamson predicted. "You have to do it in conjunction with other assets."
According to a letter from the company to state transportation officials, Cintra Zachry would use private funding to build new rail lines and recoup the cost from user fees. If the commission moves forward with this railway component of the corridor, other proposals will have to be solicited for it, so Cintra Zachry could face competition.
While the state could not force railroads to use the new tracks, Williamson believes "common sense dictates that if Cintra Zachry builds high-speed freight rail, the railroads will be negotiating with them to get their freight onto that line." The freight trains on those tracks could travel as fast as 70 mph.
Being able to move goods more quickly indeed should be an important incentive for railroads to consider using the new tracks. Bypassing cities - with congested rail lines and at-grade crossings - would offer an additional incentive.
As Cintra Zachry proposes it, the tracks through their entire length would pass "under or over any roads in the way," the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
"There would be no at-grade crossings. None," said Ted Houghton, a Texas Transportation Commission member.
That would be a major safety advantage not just for the railroads, but also for drivers crossing the railway.
As important as those benefits would be, an even bigger one is that the rail project - even without the alternate, parallel roadway - would significantly relieve I-35 congestion.
Commission and company officials estimate that the proposed railway could reduce I-35 traffic by about 2,500 trucks each day - as many as 1 million a year - by providing a quicker and safer way to ship goods within and through Texas.
While we continue to question the need for such a large program as Perry and the Transportation Commission envision the Trans-Texas Corridor becoming and the need for new toll roads, we nonetheless do see real advantages from the portion of it that would relieve congestion and improve safety along I-35.
This railway component of it certainly merits further study - including the required environmental impact assessment. And the Transportation Commission needs to begin discussions with the railroads operating in the vicinity of I-35. Inexplicably, that does not appear to have happened yet.
Finally, the commission and Cintra Zachry have to figure out how to build this project using the least amount of land possible. Perry and the commission seem to think that they can acquire as much land as they want to make the Trans-Texas Corridor as wide as they want. That odd notion could doom even sensible, needed components of the corridor.
© 2006 The Victoria Advocate:
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Saturday, April 01, 2006
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