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Mr. Williamson and his fellow commissioners often depend on TxDOT's technical experts to guide their decisions. But he said the department's recommendation for Cintra won't carry any special weight with the five commissioners, all of whom were appointed by Mr. Perry. The governor has not given him instructions on how to vote, he said.

Does anyone really believe this?

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But it came only after the council's professional staff argued for Cintra. Senior TxDOT officials also have backed Cintra's bid.

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One of Mr. Perry's former aides, lobbyist Dan Shelley, worked for Cintra as a consultant before hiring on as the governor's legislative liaison. When he left state government, Mr. Shelley resumed his lobbying practice and joining Cintra as a paid adviser.

Little wonder why "Senior TxDOT" officials are backing the foreign company's bid. I imagine the "consulting contracts" are going to be quite lucrative.

a potential treasure trove expected to yield toll receipts totaling in the billions of dollars.

As rich as the Highway 121 deal is likely to be, the amount of money companies like Cintra could make from roads yet to be built dwarfs it by comparison.

The company forecasts that toll receipts from the Interstate 35 segment of the Trans-Texas Corridor would be rich enough to allow private investors to spend $7 billion on construction and still pay the state $1.9 billion upfront.

Sort of like counting your eggs (or revenues) before they hatch.....?

"I am not sure we were as provident as we should have been four years ago – and again two years ago – when we gave TxDOT a significant amount of authority to establish public-private partnerships," said Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio. "We attempted in the most recent session to rein that in, and depending on what takes place in the next 18 months before we meet again, we may rein them in even more."

I would like to believe this,but IMO Sen. Wentworth is a wet noodle. I haven't seen him do anything commendable yet.

"I believe that an abundance of elected officials, upon reflection, are going to wonder why they interfered in a contracting process that was already well on its way to conclusion," he said.

Possibly because these elected officials are finally discovering that these projects are soup sandwich, thanks to their constituents. There have been too many "secret" deals concluded behind closed doors without public oversite.

All those who support the security of our southern border should take note:

Bush Administration Quietly Plans NAFTA Super Highway The first customs stop will be a Mexican customs office in Kansas City, their new Smart Port complex, a facility being built for Mexico at a cost of $3 million to the U.S. taxpayers in Kansas City.

NAFTA, I-69 extension will tie Fort Wayne area closer to Mexico Optimists predict the NAFTA highway will carry a steady flow of people and goods from Mexico City to Toronto and all points in between. Borders will melt away, and the economies of the United States, Canada and Mexico will prosper.

The NAFTA Super Highway Plans are already locked in for Kansas City Southern de Mexico Railroad to bring Chinese goods in sealed cargo containers from the southern Mexican port of Lazaro Cardinas direct to Kansas City, Missouri. Mexican trucks will be able to drive more sealed containers up the fast lanes of the NAFTA Super Highway, inspected only electronically if at all, and making their first customs stop in Kansas City.