Agreement between TxDOT and NTTA creates new discord
Collin official targets toll road plan
He cites fiscal fallout; backers say drivers just want highways built
August 10, 2006
By TONY HARTZEL
The Dallas Morning News
Copyright 2006
A proposed agreement designed to end a feud between North Texas' two major road-building agencies has created some new discord.
Collin County Judge Ron Harris said Wednesday that the Collin County Commissioners Court should consider legal action against the North Texas Tollway Authority if it abandons its bid to build, operate and get revenue from a State Highway 121 toll road.
Abandoning the bid "will bankrupt the NTTA," Mr. Harris said.
Legal action would be based on the tollway authority's board of directors "failing to perform their fiduciary responsibility," he said.
The tollway authority and the Texas Department of Transportation privately reached an agreement this week that specifies which agency will build each of several planned toll roads.
The Dallas Morning News obtained a copy of the pact and published its contents Wednesday.
Under the proposed agreement, the state-chartered tollway authority would drop its plans to compete with private companies to build and operate toll roads on State Highways 121 and 161. Mr. Harris says Highway 121 tolls could provide the tollway authority with money for other road projects.
In return for the tollway authority not bidding to build and operate Highway 121 and Highway 161, the state would drop its efforts to take over two other toll road projects that the tollway authority has worked on for years – Southwest Parkway in Fort Worth and the Bush Turnpike's eastern extension through Garland, Sachse and Rowlett.
Protests by Mr. Harris or others could harm the agreement's goal of getting projects under construction as quickly as possible, said tollway authority executive director Allan Rutter.
"All this is going to do is mean that people can't drive on roads as soon, and those roads are going to get more expensive to build," he said.
Mr. Harris asserted that the tollway authority got the short end of the deal with the state Transportation Department. He described Southwest Parkway and the Bush Turnpike extension as "dog projects" that won't generate enough toll revenue to sustain themselves.
Mr. Harris said the tollway authority needs revenue from a Highway 121 toll road to offset its costs on the projects it was awarded in the agreement.
"Without Highway 121, I don't think the [tollway authority] system can hold it together," he said.
Mr. Harris' theory may not stand up, because the tollway authority would not get that much revenue from a Highway 121 toll road after paying expenses to operate it. That's because recent decisions by the Regional Transportation Council, which oversees most North Texas road projects, dedicates some Highway 121 toll revenue to road projects not controlled by the tollway authority.
Mr. Harris may have a difficult time persuading county commissioners to take legal action.
"Taking them to court will just set this thing back farther than it already has been," said Commissioner Joe Jaynes. "My constituents tell me they just want the road."
The Transportation Department controls the rights to Highway 121, and it will be difficult for Collin County to challenge it or the tollway authority, said Commissioner Phyllis Cole.
"We've been tilting at that windmill, and we have gotten nowhere," Ms. Cole said.
E-mail thartzel@dallasnews.com
© 2006 The Dallas Morning News : www.dallasnews.com
He cites fiscal fallout; backers say drivers just want highways built
August 10, 2006
By TONY HARTZEL
The Dallas Morning News
Copyright 2006
A proposed agreement designed to end a feud between North Texas' two major road-building agencies has created some new discord.
Collin County Judge Ron Harris said Wednesday that the Collin County Commissioners Court should consider legal action against the North Texas Tollway Authority if it abandons its bid to build, operate and get revenue from a State Highway 121 toll road.
Abandoning the bid "will bankrupt the NTTA," Mr. Harris said.
Legal action would be based on the tollway authority's board of directors "failing to perform their fiduciary responsibility," he said.
The tollway authority and the Texas Department of Transportation privately reached an agreement this week that specifies which agency will build each of several planned toll roads.
The Dallas Morning News obtained a copy of the pact and published its contents Wednesday.
Under the proposed agreement, the state-chartered tollway authority would drop its plans to compete with private companies to build and operate toll roads on State Highways 121 and 161. Mr. Harris says Highway 121 tolls could provide the tollway authority with money for other road projects.
In return for the tollway authority not bidding to build and operate Highway 121 and Highway 161, the state would drop its efforts to take over two other toll road projects that the tollway authority has worked on for years – Southwest Parkway in Fort Worth and the Bush Turnpike's eastern extension through Garland, Sachse and Rowlett.
Protests by Mr. Harris or others could harm the agreement's goal of getting projects under construction as quickly as possible, said tollway authority executive director Allan Rutter.
"All this is going to do is mean that people can't drive on roads as soon, and those roads are going to get more expensive to build," he said.
Mr. Harris asserted that the tollway authority got the short end of the deal with the state Transportation Department. He described Southwest Parkway and the Bush Turnpike extension as "dog projects" that won't generate enough toll revenue to sustain themselves.
Mr. Harris said the tollway authority needs revenue from a Highway 121 toll road to offset its costs on the projects it was awarded in the agreement.
"Without Highway 121, I don't think the [tollway authority] system can hold it together," he said.
Mr. Harris' theory may not stand up, because the tollway authority would not get that much revenue from a Highway 121 toll road after paying expenses to operate it. That's because recent decisions by the Regional Transportation Council, which oversees most North Texas road projects, dedicates some Highway 121 toll revenue to road projects not controlled by the tollway authority.
Mr. Harris may have a difficult time persuading county commissioners to take legal action.
"Taking them to court will just set this thing back farther than it already has been," said Commissioner Joe Jaynes. "My constituents tell me they just want the road."
The Transportation Department controls the rights to Highway 121, and it will be difficult for Collin County to challenge it or the tollway authority, said Commissioner Phyllis Cole.
"We've been tilting at that windmill, and we have gotten nowhere," Ms. Cole said.
E-mail thartzel@dallasnews.com
© 2006 The Dallas Morning News :
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Thursday, August 10, 2006
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