Free Republic

AUSTIN -- Texans who are demanding that the state stop building toll roads may get their wish. But they might not like the alternative: Higher state gas taxes. There is broad support in Austin for increasing the state's 20-cents-a-gallon motor fuel tax , says a lawmaker leading the effort to strip the Texas Department of Transportation's authority to build toll roads and enter into agreements with private companies. The Texas gas tax has not gone up since 1991. "The message is loud and clear. You couldn't not hear it. People want us to build roads, and they're willing to pay...

AUSTIN - State Rep. Lois W. Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) has filed two bills which she says would kill the state's controversial Trans-Texas Corridor highway proposal. If passed, House Bill 1881 will repeal the Trans-Texas Corridor from the transportation code, effectively killing the proposal by removing the enabling legislation which would have served as the foundation for any future corridor project. “I've been fighting against the Trans-Texas Corridor for several years, and it's not because I want to stop progress. We need to look at new ways to fund roads, but this isn't it,” said Kolkhorst. “Some toll systems work, such as...

THE Sydney-based Macquarie Infrastructure Group will know tonight if it has garnered an early slice of the vast toll road riches up for grabs in Texas. The announcement by the Texas Department of Transportation of the winning bidder for State Highway 121 - a planned 42km toll road in northern Dallas, one of the fastest growing areas of the US - shapes up as the first big test of MIG's decision to all but jettison its Australian routes for a shot at the far larger but less developed US markets. Texas, which is forecast to double its population to 50...

After months of stalemates, state and regional leaders sat at the same table last week and officially hashed out many of their differences over the Trans-Texas Corridor and other planned toll roads. And in a moment of lighthearted symbolism, they shared a few doughnuts. I'll explain later. The Texas Transportation Commission, at its regular meeting Thursday in Austin, approved an agreement that lays out the future of at least six toll projects in North Texas. The agreement specifies which agency – the Transportation Department or the North Texas Tollway Authority – will build these toll roads: along State Highways 121...

AUSTIN - A proposed toll road that would encircle Dallas-Fort Worth has a new nickname: the Doughnut. Texas Transportation Commission members passed out Krispy Kreme doughnuts Thursday to symbolize their support for the outer loop, which would be built in segments from 2011 to 2030 as part of the Trans-Texas Corridor. They also celebrated the commission's approval Thursday of a new road-building partnership among Metroplex cities and counties, the North Texas Tollway Authority and the state. The partnership would also work with any companies wishing to build private toll roads in the area. "We are committed to the Doughnut," commission...

Regional planners are considering three Collin County routes as options for the state's proposed Trans-Texas Corridor, which would link Mexico to the Oklahoma border. The President George Bush Turnpike, Dallas North Tollway and the proposed Collin County Outer Loop are included on a Trans-Texas Corridor study conducted by the North Central Texas Council of Governments. The agency manages the Regional Transportation Council, which allocates federal transportation funds. The agency developed maps for potential auto, freight and rail traffic. The state will narrow study options for the corridor's future in the next few weeks. No decisions on narrowing potential paths for...