Category: General

Non-toll alternative proposed for 281

Posted on by

Link to article here.

Non Toll Alternative for 281 Proposed
Local officials to submit wish list for federal economic stimulus funds
By Jim Forsyth
WOAI Newsradio
Wednesday, January 14, 2009

For the first time ever, officials are floating a proposal to build the long planned new main lanes of US 281 outside of Loop 1604, without making them toll lanes, 1200 WOAI news reports.

The Regional Mobility Authority today proposed submitting $2.7 billion in local highway construction projects for approval under the proposed Federal Infrastructure Economic Stimulus Act, which President Elect Barack Obama says will allocate hundreds of billions of dollars to ‘shovel worthy’ projects nationwide as a way to create jobs. One of the proposals submitted by the RMA is the $585 million US 281 construction project.

“If those dollars are going to be pushed through to communities across the nation, we’re saying, we have the projects, we’re ready to go, and this will solve real needs in our community today,” said Dr. William Thornton, former San Antonio Mayor and RMA Chairman.

Other projects on the RMA’s wish list include the long awaited interchange between US 281 and Loop 1604, which Thornton says has already obtained environmental clearance and could begin construction immediately, and expansion of Loop 1604 from Military to Braun Road into a six lane expressway. Also, construction of an interchange at Loop 1604 and State Highway 151 near Sea World is on the list, along with completion of the Wurzbach Parkway.

Thornton says any of the projects approved would be designated as ’free’ roadways and tolls would not be collected.

“Tolling is simply a way to pay for the project,” he said. “If the project is paid for through federal funds, you don’t need that option of tolling.”

Thornton held open the possibility that the feds will approve construction of a portion of 281, leaving local officials to find a way to pick up the tab for the rest.

He says competition will be stiff for the money, but he says the San Antonio projects

Have additional advantages that projects in other communities may not have.
>
“These projects are not just for convenience,” he said. “The congestion which exists in that area is not only terribly inconvenient for motorists, but it is also an environmental issue when it comes to clean air due to the idling traffic. None of us like cars driving over the Aquifer, and what we like even less is cars sitting over the Aquifer with their motors running. So this is more than just building a road, it solves congestion, clean air issues, and has many benefits that other projects around the country may not have.”

The economic stimulus plan has not been approved by Congress, so it is unclear when a decision may be mad eon which projects to fund. The RMA’s proposals still have to be approved by the Metropolitan Planning Organization, a move Thornton says he hopes will happen next week.

TTC is NOT dead

Posted on by

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Trans Texas Corridor renamed, not dead

TURF supporters demand ACTION, not rhetoric

TURF reaction to TxDOT announcement:

The announcement by TxDOT Executive Director Amadeo Saenz at the Texas Transportation Forum that the “Trans Texas Corridor, as it was originally envisioned, is no more,” is just another in a series of comments to lead opponents into believing the Trans Texas Corridor is indeed dead. TURF believes this is a deliberate move to dupe opponents into complacency, and we expect iron-clad action before we begin celebrating victory.

It’s clear from the TxDOT Director’s speech, that it’s only a name change and the Trans Texas Corridor is, in reality, going underground.

This fact is evident in just about every news source across the state:

“‘Amadeo told folks at the forum that the Trans-Texas Corridor, as it was originally envisioned, is no more,’ Amacker (Saenz spokesperson) said. ‘Instead, what we’ve got is a series of smaller projects.’

Those ‘smaller projects’ will apparently include the 300-plus miles of what has been called TTC-35 from San Antonio to the Oklahoma border and the I-69 project from the Rio Grande Valley to Texarkana. But they will not be called the Trans-Texas Corridor.” — Austin American Statesman

________________________________________________________

“Other than backpedaling from the Trans-Texas Corridor brand, and the goals and priorities set over the years, the Trans-Texas Corridor remains intact.

TxDOT still plans to partner with private corporations to build and lease projects. Toll roads, truck-only lanes and rail lanes are also still on the table.

Environmental studies for the I-35 and East Texas corridor segments still chug through the pipeline. And a development contract with Cintra of Spain and Zachry Construction Co. of San Antonio, for projects paralleling I-35, is still valid.” — San Antonio Express-News

_________________________________________________________

“The renewed effort now will operate under the name ‘Innovative Connectivity Plan.'” — Houston Chronicle
_________________________________________________________

No law has been changed, no minute order rescinded, no environmental document re-done (as is required by federal law), and there are still two contracts signed giving two Spanish companies the right of first refusal on segments of the corridor previously known as TTC-35  & TTC-69. So by every real measure, the Trans Texas Corridor goes on full steam ahead. What today’s hype was about is a political ploy to make the public go back to sleep while it gets built under a different name. While we welcome genuine responsiveness from TxDOT and a true repeal of the Trans Texas Corridor, this hardly qualifies.

Lets just say, we agree with Senator Robert Nichols’ statement in the Dallas Morning News:

“If it is just a name change, and nothing more, I don’t think that is going to do much to appease lawmakers,” said Nichols, R-Jacksonville.

###

USDOT misreports dip, sustainability of gas tax revenue

Posted on by

Link to article here.

US DOT Misreports Gasoline Tax Revenue
Motor fuel excise tax revenue was up $185 million in 2008, not down, contrary to US Department of Transportation claims.
December 23, 2008
The Newspaper.com

Mary PetersThe US Department of Transportation (US DOT) has falsely suggested that the nationwide drop in vehicle miles traveled is endangering the revenue source used to maintain America’s highway network. Soaring gasoline prices in the summer and the ongoing recession together forced motorists to cut back substantially on travel, resulting in 100 billion fewer miles being driven in fiscal 2008. Transportation officials seized upon these facts to argue that the gas tax is unsustainable and that the country must quickly shift to tolling to save the highway trust fund.

“As driving decreases and vehicle fuel efficiency continues to improve, the long term viability of the Highway Trust Fund grows weaker,” Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said in a December 12 statement. “The fact that the trend persists even as gas prices are dropping confirms that America’s travel habits are fundamentally changing. The way we finance America’s transportation network must also change to address this new reality, because banking on the gas tax is no longer a sustainable option.”

The federal Highway Trust Fund took in $3 billion less in revenue in fiscal 2008 than it did in 2007, and Federal Highway Administrator Tom Madison placed the blame squarely on the gas tax.

“This (drop in revenue) underscores the need to change our policy so American infrastructure is less dependent on the amount of gas American drivers consume,” Madison said.

The American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) crunched the numbers and found this assertion to be entirely untrue. In fiscal 2007, the US Treasury reported that a total of $29.4 billion was collected from the taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel. In 2008, the total figure grew by $185 million to $29.6 billion. Lower traffic volumes did cause gasoline tax revenue to drop $70 million, but this figure was more than offset by a $256 million increase in revenue from the tax on diesel, which is primarily paid by the commercial trucking industry. View revenue chart.

These truckers, hit by tough economic times, cut expenses significantly. Sales of new rigs plunged in 2008. That caused a $2.4 billion drop in revenue from the 12 percent tax on the retail sales of trucks and trailers. An accounting change in the way kerosene and similar taxes were transferred ended up showed a paper loss of $722 million from the fund. Together these factors, which are unrelated to the number of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in 2008, accounted for the $3 billion drop in trust fund revenue.

“The US DOT misused that data to suggest the federal motor fuels tax can no longer finance federal investments in highway and mass transit improvements,” ARTBA Vice President William Buechner said. “The data in fact suggest that the federal motor fuels taxes can remain a viable source of revenues for highway investments for the foreseeable future. The trust fund’s real problem is not the decline in VMT, but rather the economic slowdown and the fact the federal motor fuel tax rates have not been changed since 1993.”

TheNewspaper has previously reported that gas tax revenues have not plunged at the state level. In Virginia, for example, fuel tax revenues were up 2.6 percent in fiscal 2008 (more). Motor carrier fuel tax receipts likewise increased in Illinois (more). At the same time, overall traffic has plunged on toll roads forcing huge increases in the tolling rates to prevent a loss in profit for private investors (more).

Transportation agencies may merge, allowing vote on toll roads

Posted on by

Link to article here.

Voters may get say on toll roads
By Pat Driscoll
Express-News
December 20, 2008

Talks are gaining steam to abolish San Antonio’s fledging toll-road agency and give voters a long-demanded say-so on toll roads.Shuttering the five-year-old Alamo Regional Mobility Authority, which still is several years away from opening a toll road, would be a byproduct of a still-sketchy idea to merge the agency and VIA Metropolitan Transit into the existing Advanced Transportation District.

Voters approved the ATD and its quarter-cent sales tax in 2004 to expand bus service, upgrade city streets and build highway lanes. The district, which follows the city’s boundary, also can construct and operate toll roads and light rail.

Amid the bureaucratic wrangling lies a catch. Promises made during the ATD referendum forbid spending on tolls or rail without additional public votes.

“That was a valid pledge,” insists attorney Tim Tuggey, a former VIA and ATD chairman now advising the toll agency.

Giving the public a vote on toll roads is the right thing to do anyway, say a bevy of toll supporters now advocating the consolidation of the agencies.

“After all these years, I’ve just come to the point, if they want it, fine, if they don’t, fine,” County Judge Nelson Wolff said. “I believe people ought to get what they ask for.”

Toll critics aren’t sure whether to smile or frown.

The result could be ugly if funding isn’t tied to specific projects and limited to a time frame, said Terri Hall of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom.

“Yes, we want the public vote,” she said. “But I don’t want a public vote to be a sweetener to a really bad deal before opening the door to a big Pandora’s box.”

Sales tax revenues traditionally used for transit could end up subsidizing toll roads, Hall said. Or tollway profits could shift to another side of town to help pay for a light-rail line.

Tuggey, who’s writing possible legislation to create the superagency, maintains voters would have to sign off on mixing different piles of money.

“This is not an end run to get toll roads,” he said.

The merger idea bubbled into the public spotlight this week after germinating a month ago in behind-the-scene talks among members of a city-county task force. The group is drawing up regional transportation goals.

Piecemeal authority of too many agencies has hobbled planning and financing the city’s roads and transit, officials argue. Also, speaking with one voice could help tap transportation funds that soon could flow more freely from Washington.

“If we’re going to be in the hunt for what we think is going to come down the line, we have to get organized sooner than later,” VIA board member Mary Briseño told the task force, which she sits on. “We don’t have time to just kick this around. We need to be bold.”

Many hoops remain — enough to foster concerns on how the agencies should be meshed.

“I want to see it in black and white before I make a decision,” VIA board and task force member Linda Chavez-Thompson said. “The devil is in the details. Where exactly does the power and authority lie?”

Other task force members say the challenges can and must be met.

“I think there’s a real good chance of it,” Terrell McCombs said of the possibility. “We need to do this if we’re going to take the next step to the future.”

Tuggey, working pro bono to craft an enabling bill, laid out key issues to work out:

•The jurisdictions to collect and allocate ATD and VIA sales tax revenues — VIA levies a half-cent — would have to remain independent unless voters later say differently.

•The ATD board — with five members appointed by the city, three by the county and two by suburban cities — might expand to give the county two more seats and the governor a pick. On the tollway panel to be phased out, the county fills four seats and the governor selects the chairman.

•The tollway agency’s agreements with the state, including a $12.4 million loan and $18.7 million left from a grant, would have to be transferred.

Bill Thornton, who chairs both the task force and the toll agency, urged officials to press on with the enormous chore.

“This isn’t baby steps, it’s huge,” he told the task force Wednesday. “Let’s aim toward getting something on paper.”

Bush unleashes highest possible "market-based" tolls nationwide

Posted on by

This last minute rule change MANDATES market-based tolling nationwide. Remember, it started here in Texas with the counterfeit moratorium bill, SB 792, that Rick Perry signed into law with glee largely due to the market-based tolling provision. It unleashed the MOST EXPENSIVE transportation tax on Texas and, as we predicted, across the country.

Market-based tolls means charging motorists “whatever the market will bear,” bringing us the HIGHEST possible toll tax. It’s runaway, punitive taxation based on greed, not the actual cost of constructing the road or retiring the debt. This will be the Bush-Perry legacy: name your price and we’ll hand over Americans’ wallets. We were the only grassroots group that actively fought this provision from becoming law. Help us fight to roll back this rule change and fight against tolls on freeways and the Trans Texas Corridor on the federal and state level next year. Sign-up for our email alerts here.

Bush road rule takes effect Jan-Transportation Dept
Thu, Dec 18 2008
http://www.afxnews.com by Lisa Lambert

WASHINGTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) – The Bush administration will finalize changes on toll road regulations on Friday that it says will make privatizing infrastructure more efficient, counter to the view of leading Congressional Democrats that it will rob states of revenue and drive up tolls.

A Department of Transportation spokesman told Reuters on Thursday that details of the rule will be published in the Federal Register and will go into effect on Jan. 18.

The rule will require states to charge public toll authorities fair market value to lease roads built with federal assistance, in the hopes of making the authorities equal competitors with members of the private sector, said Doug Hecox.

“When a company wants to come in and bid for the work, they need to have some idea as to what the value of that would be,” Hecox said. The transportation department worked with states on the regulation changes, he said.

“In some states they may give the first pick or first chance to public agencies before they give it out to the private sector. In that case, it’s a little risky because there’s no guarantee they’re going to be choosing the fair market value,” he said.

In a letter sent to Transportation Secretary on Monday, Reps. James Oberstar and Peter DeFazio said that relying on fair market values would push up the fees to drive on those roads and that the values “bear no relation to the true financing, construction, operating and maintenance costs of the facility.”

Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat, chairs the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation Committee, and DeFazio, a California Democrat, chairs its Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

A committee spokesman said they had no comment on the finalization of the rule, which was proposed Oct. 8.

The representatives have said that changes to how toll roads are valued should be made in the upcoming transportation bill, to be written in 2009. But Hecox said the administration is concerned that might delay establishing a standard when the appetite for public-private partnerships is growing and states are looking into alternatives to fund infrastructure projects.

In most of the partnerships, also called “P3s,” a corporation leases a road from a state and then recoups its losses through levying tolls. The leases extend for decades so the companies may also deduct depreciation costs from their taxes, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Because the partnerships are fairly new in the United States, the GAO, the nonpartisan congressional investigative office, has not been able to quantify how many exist in the country.

The rule change will provide consistency for the corporations bidding for the contracts in different states, Hecox said.

“The businesses that…are waiting to compete for this kind of work can do so from a position of a level playing field, rather than having to be the best friend of the governor in this state or the best friend of the mayor in that state,” he said.

(Reporting by Lisa Lambert) Keywords: MUNIS ROADS/

(lisa.lambert@thomsonreuters.com; +1-202-898-8328; Reuters Messaging: lisa.lambert.reuters.com@reuters.net)

Commission supports TxDOT overhaul

Posted on by

Read the story here

Our own Mel Borel attended the meeting along with several other TURF supporters and does a great job during the interview! Thanks Mel!

Lawmakers want outside review, one
commissioner

Last Edited: Tuesday, 16 Dec 2008, 8:16 PM CST
Created On: Tuesday, 16 Dec 2008, 4:56 PM CST

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Sunset Commission , comprised of senators and representatives, voted almost unanimously to support an overhaul of the Texas Department of Transportation on Tuesday.

“It’s an agency operating like it is in the 1920s,” said Chair Rep. Carl Isett (R-Lubbock).

The Sunset staff made several key recommendations for the agency. They want a Legislative Oversight Committee to be appointed to oversee the agency both when the legislature is in and out of session. They also want more transparency within TxDOT as well as restrictions on TxDOT’s lobbying capabilities. The aim is restore the public’s faith in a state agency that has come under fire for tollroads, various road projects and discrepancies in the budget.

“They’ve had free rein to do whatever they want to do,” said anti-tollroad activist Mel Borel. “They have abused legislation made years ago and imposed projects on the people of Texas.”

When asked if TxDOT agreed with an oversight committee being appointed to oversee the agency, the spokesperson said they would follow whatever the legislature wanted.

“We look forward to working with the Legislature to implement policies they create,” said Chris Lippincott.

Sunset Commission votes to abolish Transportation Commission

Posted on by

Link to article here. The Commission was divided on whether TxDOT’s head should be elected. Perry has too many well-placed cronies. Sunset Commission Chairman Rep. Carl Isett tried to place an albatross over any effort to get TxDOT directly answerable to the PEOPLE of Texas by making the agency head be an elected position.

San Antonio’s Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon attempted to amend the Sunset recommendations to reflect what 70% of the public feedback asked for, a single ELECTED commissioner to head TxDOT. When the Board split over her amendment, she promised to put forward a bill in the House to make it law with Rep. Linda Harper-Brown and Rep. Lois Kolkhorst pledging to back it. Nonetheless, Isett stated: “I suspect you may have a problem getting it out of the Senate.” The Commission’s recommendations clearly didn’t go far enough. It’s our job to make sure the needed reforms become law. Hold onto your hats, we’re in for another wild ride.

Sunset for TxDOT board? Lawmakers prefer single chief
But ‘sunset’ report is only advisory to Legislature. Some want to retain five-member board, while others want to elect TxDOT leader.
By Ben Wear
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, December 17, 2008

The five-member Texas Transportation Commission should be abolished and replaced with a single commissioner appointed by the governor, the Texas Sunset Review Commission decided Tuesday.

However, the 7-5 vote by the commission, as well as many other changes for the Texas Department of Transportation included in the commission’s report, amount only to suggestions to the Legislature. The narrow vote, and the opposition of four of the five senators on the commission, suggests that the question of how to govern TxDOT is far from settled.

“I suspect you may have a problem getting it out of the Senate,” commission co-chairman Carl Isett, a Republican House member from Lubbock, said immediately after the vote.

One member pointed out one significant impact of having a single commissioner: no more open meetings of the commission, which makes key decisions. And some members, reflecting the bulk of public comment in recent months, said they would prefer that Texans elect a transportation commissioner. State Rep. Ruth McClendon, D-San Antonio, said she’ll carry legislation to make that change in 2009.

“We’ll continue to have this discussion for 140 days” during the coming legislative session, said state Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, also a co-chair of the Sunset commission.

The discussion, which lasted most of Tuesday afternoon, was another in a string of unpleasant ones for the TxDOT executives lined up in the Capitol hearing room’s front row. The Legislature in 2007 began and ended the session in open revolt against what many lawmakers of both parties see as the high-handed tactics of TxDOT during the past five years or so. That official restiveness had the bad luck, from TxDOT’s vantage point, of coming just as the once-every-12-years sunset review was scheduled to occur.

Make that once-every-four-years, at least for now. The commission approved giving the agency just four years until its next turn on the griddle. In addition — all of these changes would only become law if they are included in a final sunset bill for TxDOT next spring — a newly created Transportation Legislative Oversight Committee would examine everything TxDOT does and how it does it in the coming years. A consultant company would be hired to conduct what would amount to a management audit of the agency. And four divisions of TxDOT, including vehicle licensing and its motor carrier office, would be broken off into a new Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.

“We are trying to restructure an agency,” Isett said.

But he opposed the single commissioner idea, arguing that for a service like transportation where large sums of money are spent on roads throughout the state, it would be better to retain the five-member commission and stipulate that the members come from five geographic districts. Historically, governors have attempted to maintain some sort of rough balance in their appointments of transportation commission members, but Isett would put that requirement in law.

Isett said that the real problem with TxDOT isn’t the appointed leaders, but rather the “culture in that building across the street” (TxDOT’s headquarters on 11th Street) of making it difficult for outsiders to accurately gauge what is going on.

But state Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham , one of TxDOT’s harshest critics in recent years, said changing to a single commissioner will make it clear who is responsible for the agency’s actions.

“It sends a clear signal,” Kolkhorst said, “that we do want change.”

Illinois Governor arrested for toll project in exchange for campaign cash

Posted on by

Link to article here.

Illinois Governor Blagojevich Saw Personal Green in Toll Lane Idea
Illinois governor arrested for approving a toll lane project in return for campaign cash.
The Newspaper.com
December 10, 2008

Governor Rod BlagojevichThe green in Governor Rod R. Blagojevich’s “Green Lane” tolling proposal was headed to the pocket of the Illinois Democrat, according to charges filed this weekend. Most of the attention drawn to yesterday’s arrest of Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, has centered on the governor’s reported attempt to sell the US Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama (D). Blagojevich’s “Tomorrow’s Transportation Today” scheme to impose new tolls on motorists for the enrichment of his personal campaign contributors has received less scrutiny. Blagojevich took office in 2003 after his predecessor, George Ryan (R) was similarly arrested for corruption.

“If (Illinois) isn’t the most corrupt state, it’s one hell of a competitor,” Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent-in-Charge Robert D. Grant said yesterday. “Even the most cynical agents in our shop were shocked.”

According to the indictment, a wealthy contractor promised on October 6 to make a $500,000 donation to the Friends of Blagojevich campaign account. Nine days later, the governor announced the $1.8 billion program whose centerpiece was the addition of High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes to the Illinois Tollway — an extra layer of toll collection on existing lanes within the already tolled roadway. The beauty of the Tomorrow’s Transportation Today concept was that it could be easily expanded to other parts of the state transportation network.

“I could have made a larger announcement but wanted to see how they perform by the end of the year,” Blagojevich said in private conversation. “If they don’t perform, [expletive] ’em.”

According to the most recent campaign disclosures filed, Blagojevich had raised $1.9 million for his campaign in the first six months of 2008. FBI agents seized the campaign ledgers and suggested that Blagojevich’s goal was to reach $2.5 million by the end of the year. After bugging the Blagojevich campaign office, agents intercepted a phone call where the governor emphasized to contractors the need to raise the additional campaign money before January 1, 2009. On that date, a new ethics law designed to stop “Pay for Play” will prohibit companies with state contracts worth more than $50,000 from making donations to officials that approve contracts.

Green Lane construction is not scheduled to begin until 2010. Under the current plans, contractors would be given $400 million in taxpayer money to install extra tolling infrastructure on the existing, already tolled lanes on 41 miles of Interstate 294 — the Green Lanes would not create any new capacity. The extra tolls imposed on drivers would would then be handed to contractors to build expensive interchange replacement projects for the benefit of campaign donors with ties to the concrete industry.

This is not the first scandal involving HOT lanes. In 2002, the Orange County, California Transportation Authority paid the contractors who built the 91 Express Lanes $207.5 million to get out from under a cleverly written non-compete contract. The lanes only cost $139 million to build. Earlier this year, an Australian tolling contractor admitted it had made $177,000 in illegal campaign contributions to Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D) and members of both parties in the General Assembly. Contractors that run HOT lanes stand to pocket millions even from legitimate deals because tolling by its nature is inherently inefficient. The best run toll roads in the country spend an average of 22 percent of the tolls collected from drivers on nothing but toll collection overhead (details).

Blagojevich and Harris are charged with solicitation of bribery and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Both face 20 years in prison and up to $500,000 in fines.

A full copy of the indictment is available in a 650k PDF file at the source link below.

Source: PDF File Criminal Complaint for US v. Blagojevich (US District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 12/9/2008)

Capital Area MPO steals money from 183A toll road to fund 290 toll road

Posted on by

Link to article here.

Vote frees NE Austin tollway project to move ahead in 2009
Transportation officials approve financial pairing of U.S. 290, 183-A
By Ben Wear
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Transportation officials decided to create a financial marriage between two toll roads Monday, a move that could allow the U.S. 290 East tollway project to break ground sometime next year.

The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization board voted 15-3 to create a tollway system made up of the existing, and profitable, 183-A toll road in Cedar Park and U.S. 290 East, which based on projections will not have sufficient revenue to persuade investors to lend more than a half billion dollars to build it. The existing tollway, which opened in March 2007 and is making a profit of about $5 million a year, will in effect act as a co-signer for the new project.

The U.S. 290 East project would cost $623.5 million, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority says. It involves expanding 6.2 miles of the existing four-lane, divided highway between U.S. 183 in Northeast Austin and Parmer Lane just west of Manor. It would have six toll lanes and six free-to-drive frontage road lanes alongside.

Some CAMPO members objected to the financial partnership Monday, saying it violates the intent of policies adopted in October 2007, when the board approved the U.S. 290 East project and four other potential toll roads. At that time, the board agreed that excess toll revenue from the five roads would be spent first in the general area of each road rather than being used for improvements far afield.

That will still be the case, according to the mobility authority, which operates 183-A and will build and operate U.S. 290 East. Given 183-A’s profitable status, they say, no money would need to go from U.S. 290 East to 183-A.

In fact, mobility authority Executive Director Mike Heiligenstein said no money is likely to go either direction. The authority says that preliminary traffic and revenue studies show that U.S. 290 East will be able to meet its debt payments and operating costs without any transfer of money from 183-A.

However, investors normally require that toll road revenues be well beyond projected costs. A summary of the traffic analysis released Monday shows that, based on charging 20 cents a mile for U.S. 290 East, the road would make about a 30 percent profit — which Heiligenstein said was not high enough for the mobility authority to borrow the full amount needed to build U.S. 290 East without riding on the back of 183-A.

Voting against the plan were Travis County Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt, Sunset Valley Mayor Jeff Mills and state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez.

Heiligenstein said Monday’s vote was necessary to sustain engineering work and keep the project on schedule. Officials expect to get federal environmental clearance for the road in the first half of 2009, borrow the money on the bond market later in the year and begin construction soon after that.

Guerra: 281 toll road study needs trustworthy agency

Posted on by

Link to article here.

Time for a new participant in toll-road controversy: AACOG
By Carlos Guerra
Express-News
12/02/2008

Amazing how an already long tale keeps growing, all because we refuse to deal with the reality of our drinking water.

Commuters who drive into town via U.S. 281 know all about long morning waits. Of course, that’s because they moved into the city’s then-unincorporated northern reaches, where they could have expansive yards, be away from the city’s hustle and bustle and. initially at least, pay no city taxes.

The problem is they weren’t alone.

Over the past five years, more than half of all new “San Antonio” homes have been in unincorporated areas of the city’s northern extraterritorial jurisdiction, and the impact has been significant. Especially along the U.S. 281 corridor, where every morning tens of thousands of cars pour onto the highway in a southerly migration.

But much of the congestion is around the light-controlled intersections, where arterial roads pour thousands of additional cars into the flow.

The Texas Department of Transportation proposed an absurd plan to deal with it all: Instead of building overpasses over the congested intersections that would allow southbound drivers to cruise over them, the agency proposed toll roads along the route, and along the northern reaches of Loop 1604, so a foreign-owned company could excise tolls from all those who wanted to get into town quickly.

Two minor problems arose.

First, the Legislature ordered that no toll roads replace existing highway lanes, which in essence required TxDOT to double the highway lanes on 281 so they could toll them.

The other problem was that the entire area lies over the most sensitive areas of the recharge and contributing zones of the Edwards Aquifer, our sole water source, and, because the project requires federal money, federal laws apply, so they had to take environmental concerns into account.

TxDOT’s “outside contractor” for the “environmental assessment” — a lightweight appraisal of the environmental impact — turned out to be a company for which a TxDOT employee’s husband worked. It found that a U.S. 281 toll road over the most sensitive part of the aquifer’s recharge zone would have no significant impact.

Bill Bunch, lead attorney for Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas, took TxDOT to court, not once but twice — and won twice.

“We’ve beat them twice, and both times, each time, before ever going to trial,” Bunch says with a chuckle.

But the next step is nothing to laugh about.

A news release from the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority states: “County Judge (Nelson) Wolff requested the Alamo RMA take the lead role in developing a new environmental document for 281 …”

Now, honestly, do we want the Regional Mobility Authority, which was created for the sole purpose of selling toll roads, to conduct an “impartial environmental assessment of a new toll road route” now?

Annalisa Peace, head of the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, a coalition of 45-plus water activist groups, had this to say: “I think that the Alamo Area Council of Governments would be the appropriate agency to conduct the (environmental impact statement) for 281 and all tolling projects within the San Antonio area. AACOG is the agency tasked with addressing our air quality compliance, certainly an important issue for an EIS to address. And the many small municipalities and county governments that will be impacted by these projects are members of AACOG.

“The sooner we can begin to address transportation issues on a regional basis, the better. The EIS process for 281 is an excellent opportunity to begin doing this.”

Makes sense to me.