Link to article here. This article bills this leg of the Trans Texas Corridor TTC-35 project as a way to avoid congestion to Houston when the original sales pitch for the loop was to relieve traffic on I-35 (which the segment from Georgetown to the airport has not done). However, the first leg of SH 130 (the name of the TTC loop around Austin under the control of a foreign company for the next 50 years) is sooo empty, that a plane landed on it during peak traffic. It begs the question, if no one can afford to use it, why are we building it? We also need to ask: will it truly relieve congestion?

Construction revs up on new tollway toward Seguin
New section will offer less congested route to Houston.
Monday, August 17, 2009

You have to know what you’re looking for to see the beginnings of construction on yet another Central Texas toll road, at least at the part nearest Austin.

Crews have dug the holes and laid the foundations of some of the columns that will be the interchange between Texas 45 Southeast and the new, 40-mile-long extension of Texas 130 as it heads to Lockhart. Near Maha Creek, the median between the north- and southbound lanes of U.S. 183 is a mishmash of black-dirt hillocks as crews work on future bridges over the creek.

Further south, near where U.S. 183 crosses Texas 21, owners of an Exxon station recently moved it several hundred feet east of U.S. 183 to make way for the wide tollway and access lanes to come. And down near Seguin, where Texas 130 will meet Interstate 10, concrete pillars for an interchange are poking out of the ground.

Construction of Texas’ first public-private toll road began quietly several weeks ago, with a lack of fanfare given all the controversy such tollway agreements have generated over the past five years. A consortium called SH 130 Concession Co., led by Spanish toll road operator Cintra and Zachry Construction, is financing the $1.35 billion project and will operate it (and, it hopes, profit from it) over the next 50 years. It should open to traffic in 2012.

Just two other public-private tollways in Texas are in the works, both at least two years further back in the development process and unlikely to break ground soon. Cintra is the lead actor on both projects, which involve adding toll lanes on Interstate 820, Texas 183 and Texas 121 in Tarrant County and on the LBJ freeway in Dallas.

The new section of Texas 130 (the Texas Department of Transportation built the first 49 miles from Georgetown to Mustang Ridge) will offer a new possibility: getting from Austin to Houston without having to drive through the traffic lights and growing congestion on Texas 71 in Bastrop. But that may be a tough sell.

From east of the Austin airport, it’s about 85 miles on Texas 71 to Columbus, where Texas 71 meets Interstate 10. Take Texas 130 and I-10 there instead, and the trip will be almost 135 miles, at a cost of more than $7 for a car, close to $30 for big trucks, plus extra gasoline or diesel.

Even with higher speed limits — as much as 80 mph on the tollway — that alternative is unlikely to entice many people. It might make sense for people bound for Corpus Christi and the Rio Grande Valley.

But Texas 130’s main reason-to-be was as a bypass of Interstate 35 in the San Antonio-to-Georgetown corridor. So far, traffic on the 49-mile piece east of Austin that opened in 2006 and 2007 has been light, about 9 percent below projections this budget year. And for an 18-wheeler to take the entire 89 miles, once it’s open, the one-way price will be more than $50.

Stout. Truckers may need a bypass when they see that, the kind that requires a surgeon.

Remarks by Kay Bailey Hutchison Officially Announcing Her Historic Campaign for Governor

Hans Klingler, Communications Director

Austin, TX – Officially announcing her historic campaign for governor, Kay Bailey Hutchison delivered the following remarks as prepared for delivery in La Marque, Texas, at 8:00 a.m. CT:

“It is with pride and humility for history that I announce today that I am a candidate for Governor of Texas.

“Texas is like no other place on earth.  It started on March 2, 1836 when our forefathers declared an end to tyranny with the Texas Declaration of Independence.  Among the signers was my great, great grandfather, Charles S. Taylor.  The great men who signed that document put their lives on the line, and their fate in the hands of God.  Why did they do it?  Because they yearned for freedom and they believed in Texas.  Today, 173 years later, I’m running for Governor because I believe in Texas.  And I know we can do better.

“Let me start by saying this about Rick Perry.  He’s a dedicated public servant.  I know he loves Texas.  But now he’s trying to stay too long – 14 years, maybe longer.

“And after ten Perry years, where are we?

“Property taxes?  Highest in the country.

“State debt?  Doubled.

“Tuition?  Skyrocketing.

“Dropout rates?  Among the highest.

“Uninsured children?  Leading the nation.

“Private property rights?  At risk.

“Ten years is enough.  We can do better.

“In my administration, we will tackle these challenges.  We will be specific, and direct. We will lay out a clear, conservative vision for the future of Texas.  As Governor, I will focus on five areas:  Fiscal policy, education, transportation, health care and government reform.

“For starters, I will spend less, tax less, and borrow less.  Just look at Governor Perry’s new tax on business.  It’s been called a ‘job killer’.  More than 200,000 Texans lost their jobs this year.  In the month of June alone, Texas lost more lost jobs than any state but one.  And now we have the highest unemployment in the region.  The Governor said he was ‘proud’ to sign his record tax increase.  Well, I don’t call a job killing tax increase something to be proud of.  I call it a tragic mistake.

“Taxes have increased and government has grown.  Over the last ten years, Texas has added 30,000 new workers to the state payroll.  And to make a political point, we turned down half a billion in federal money, sacrificed it to other states, and now we’re borrowing three times as much and sticking Texas business with the tab.  That’s not conservative.  That’s irresponsible.  We can do better.  It’s time for results, not politics.

“As governor, I want to help create an education system that prepares our children for the jobs of tomorrow.  To begin, we will no longer accept one of the highest dropout rates in the country.  Our students deserve quality teachers who are well educated and trained, and schools where bad teachers aren’t just transferred, but let go.  But good teachers should be rewarded and they should have continuing opportunities for professional development.  I will propose incentives for math and science teachers to earn a degree in what they teach.

“In Texas, discussion of basic education should no longer be K through 12, but pre-K through 14.  We have to look for ways to support early childhood education efforts on the front end.

“And every child should have the support and encouragement to attend college.  But those who don’t, must be trained with marketable skills to find a good job.

“Ignoring these fundamental challenges is a recipe for mediocrity.  Or even worse: failure.  We can do better.  And our future depends on it.

“Today, TXDOT is the most arrogant, unaccountable state agency in the history of Texas.  I will reform and expand the Commission.  It should be more representative of all regions of our state.  And it will seek and embrace local input.  It is time to return to our tradition of free, quality highways and roads.

“Then there’s the Trans-Texas Corridor.  The biggest land grab in the history of Texas.  And the Governor wanted to turn it over to a foreign company to build toll roads.  Well, they can call it the Trans-Texas Corridor.  Or they can call it something different.  But here’s what I will call it when I take the oath of office, dead, buried, history.  We can do better.

“We must build a health care system that will leverage the vast resources of our state to bring health care options to the uninsured, and assistance to business owners so they can afford to provide it.  And know this, while I’m in the Senate, I will spend every moment fighting this massive government takeover of our health care system.  If you want to know what health care in Texas will look like when I’m governor, just imagine the exact opposite of what is proposed in Congress today.  We will offer carrots, not sticks.  Help, not fines.

“There’s another reality here in Texas.  Too often our state government is doing what it shouldn’t, and isn’t doing what it should.  When we have systemic abuse at the Texas Youth Commission, and fight clubs at state schools for the disabled, the last thing we need is government mandating vaccines for 6th grade girls or playing politics with a great university like Texas A&M.

“We need results, not politics.  And that starts with term limits for Texas governor.  For any Governor, eight years is enough.  We can’t afford fourteen years of one person appointing every state board, agency and commission.  It invites patronage.  It tempts cronyism.  And it has to stop, now.

“As Governor I will give our agencies a top to bottom scrubbing.  I will appoint a Commission 2025 – respected scholars, business, agricultural representatives, and community leaders – to look at Texas state governance.  What we should keep, what should go, and what should change.

“Finally, let me say this to every Texas Republican.  For the last decade, the Republican Party in Texas has been shrinking.  We’re losing elections we used to win easily.  In Austin, we’ve gone from 88 seats in the House to 76 – just two away from losing the Texas house.

“As Republicans, we can continue down the road of shrinking majorities.  Or we can inspire, unite, and grow our party.  Rebuild it from the bottom up, and reach out to Texans and say, ‘If you are for limited government, lower taxes and less spending, we want you in the Republican Party, we welcome you and want you to be active in our cause.’  That’s how we will win elections, keep the majority and be worthy to lead our great state.  And that’s what we’re going to do if I’m heading the Republican ticket.

“It’s time for a governor for all Texas.  Join me and together we will make the Texas of tomorrow everything our children deserve.

“This is a special time in Texas.

“A time for principled leadership.

“A time for reform.

“And a time for results.

“We can do better.

“And together, we will.”

U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison

It was beautiful to hear a candidate for Texas governor actually take-on the detested and failed policies of Rick Perry in a crowd full of those who make a living off such policies. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison finished off the 12th Annual Transportation and Infrastructure Summit in Irving Friday with a speech outlining her positions on transportation.

Hutchison head and shoulders above the crowd
Don’t let Hutchison’s sleight build and gracious manner fool you. She’s as tough as nails and made some very bold statements in a crowd with a vested interest in a road-building slush fund, including a few jabs at Perry whom she referred to as the “Big Kahuna of tollways.” She repudiated tolling existing freeways calling it DOUBLE TAXATION and touted her many amendments to prevent TxDOT from doing so.

Her major theme was what she called highway fund “parity.” Texas has been what’s called a donor state, meaning Texas “donates’ some of its federal gas taxes collected to other states. Since Hutchison was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1993, Texas’ share of its federal gas taxes has gone from 73 cents of every dollar up to 92 cents of every dollar sent to Washington. With Texas handling 20% of the commerce coming through U.S. ports, it’s past time for Texas to get 100% of its gas taxes back.

In fact, Hutchison recently introduced legislation to allow Texas and other states to opt-out of the federal highway trust fund. She then slammed Perry’s Trans Texas Corridor as the biggest land grab in Texas history, calling it ill-conceived and an abuse of private property rights.

Hutchison also railed against Perry’s beloved CDA contracts because they basically create permanent toll roads (50 year contracts) and make the taxpayers pay a penalty to the private toll operators if any new roads are built surrounding the tollway.

Her sentiment is unequivocal: “I disagree with it 100%.”

She also decried the recent payment of $3.6 million to Cintra, the Spanish company that was the losing bidder on the hotly contested SH 121 tollway, which eventually was wrested from foreign-ownership by the public tollway authority. Hutchison said: “I call it a tax on arrogance.”
Perhaps most importantly was her clarification that the $60 million she helped secure for environmental studies for I-69 is for a FREE interstate within the existing right of way already purchased, not a continuation of Perry’s universally despised Trans Texas Corridor concept that would make I-69 a foreign-owned tollway.

Her parting words give the clearest indication as to how she would govern: “I will work with you, not dictate to you.”

Now that would be like a breath of fresh air to clean-up the stench coming from Perry and his highway department.

Link to Terri Hall’s Examiner article here.

“Transportation should be about people, not projects,” advised Congressman John Carter, who addressed the 12th Annual Transportation and Infrastructure Summit in Irving today. I couldn’t agree more. However, when I asked him afterwards what his position was on toll roads and the sale of our infrastructure to foreign entities through these public private partnerships (or PPPs), his impassioned speech ended-up just that, a speech.

Anyone with a pulse knows Rick Perry’s push for privatizing public roads just got soundly defeated during the special session in July. Carter repeatedly called himself a Texan first. Congressman Carter, Texans DO NOT want their roads sold to Spain! It’s breathtakingly UN-Texan! While he was quick to disavow the Trans Texas Corridor (which affects his district), he was more than happy to stick it to urban commuters with 75 cent a mile toll taxes or $13 a DAY to get to work through PPPs. It’s the “not in my backyard” syndrome that pro-tollers routinely use to pit rurals against urbanites.

When billions in gas taxes and public money are pouring into these PPP deals, the sale of Texas highways impacts EVERY Texan. This urban-rural divide has got to STOP. We’re running out of money for ANY free roads in this state (if we’re not there already), and rural lawmakers have the most to lose. They’re facing the very real possibility that NO funding will trickle down to their areas as urban areas gobble up ALL available funds for highly leveraged toll roads.
Carter noted the summit wasn’t about adopting European or Pan-American transportation policies, but about Americans creating a uniquely American concept of transportation. Newsflash: road privatization started in Europe, and it’s failing in Europe. Now they’re transporting their risky leveraged debt, pension-raiding schemes overseas to spread the misery around! Investors write themselves sweetheart deals, thanks to their willing accomplices in government, at the expense of the taxpayers.

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson fared even worse on the taxpayer index. She said: “Nobody wants to do anymore taxes. There are taxes and there are tolls, We have to do one or the other. We can’t build roads without tolls and public private partnerships.”

Whoa, oh yes we can build roads without tolls. Dust off the Texas Transportation Institute’s report that said precisely that! To summarize, it stated we could raise the gas tax 8 cents and index it to inflation or simply index the gas tax and we wouldn’t need to do a single toll road in the state of Texas.

Toll are taxes. They think we’re stupid and can’t figure that out. Politicians tell you with a straight face that they’re NOT raising taxes when they charge you a toll to access public roads (built with gas taxes, stimulus funds, and heaps of public money), and many of which are existing roads you’ve already built and paid for! I’m sick and tired of the mentality in Austin and Washington. They won’t fight for something that’s politically tough, so instead they shove the most EXPENSIVE transportation tax down Texans throats like it’s somehow a more palatable solution.

Congressman Ralph Hall and Pete Olson fleshed out the panel, both pro-toll. Most surprising of the bunch was Olson’s support for Perry’s “innovative financing” schemes when he’s from Fort Bend County where there is tremendous opposition to both the Trans Texas Corridor (or TTC) and the Grand Parkway, which is being considered for privatization and likely a leg of the TTC.

The keynote speaker, Congressman John Mica of Florida, ranking member of the House Transportation Subcommittee, floated a proposal to abolish the federal gas tax and levy a sales tax on the total sale price of gasoline each time we fill-up at the pump. He, too, noted that any straight gas tax increase is a non-starter. Are you beginning to see it’s because they want to find excuses to enact new taxes that charge you much higher transportation taxes?

Even more frightening is the reality that the road building industry is seeking to raise a whole litany of taxes in order to fund roads. Judging by the plethora of sessions dedicated to financing options (code for taxes), taxpayers are about to be hit with a tidal wave of higher taxes. With diversions of the gas tax still alive and well and with a highway department that’s run amok, our elected representatives clearly need a reality check.

Perhaps another front in the heated tax revolt brewing all over the country is necessary to help them get the message that taxpayers first demand accountability with the money they already take from us, then a curb on tolling, and lastly that they properly fund roads with the MOST AFFORDABLE solution, like indexing the gas tax.

Link to article here.

Wanna know why there’s no money for roads? Here’s your answer…
Hold your breath or at least resist the urge to throw things at your computer or kick the dog…despite public opposition, Texas Senator John Carona and State Rep. Charlie Geren carried the bill to lift the cap on payments to losing bidders on certain toll contracts called Comprehensive Development Agreements or CDAs. The original limit was $1 million, then in 2007 it was reduced to $250,000, and now since SB 882 passed, there is no cap on how high these payments can go. The amount of taxpayer money is solely at the discretion of government bureaucrats and politicians who bow to foreign interests, like the Spanish firm Cintra. So we’re paying LOSERS for not even building the roads! I warned you…the cronyism is only getting worse, and it’s at the expense of the taxpayers!
Thursday, Aug 13, 2009

Spanish firm to receive $3.6 million after losing road project