[BobL]

Pardon me if I seem a bit suspicious here, but I'm supposed to believe that a private company is willing to spend $7.2 Billion of its own money to build a toll road that runs parallel to a freeway that is mostly underutilized. Something tells me that it would be a good idea to take a close look at whatever ends up getting signed.

The bottom line:

Tolls will have to be imposed on I-35 (currently a freeway), simply because Governor Perry's White Knight will require it. Otherwise no sane CEO would ever drop that kind of money.

If you want to know why the Republican Governor here is about to get creamed in the Primary, this is a prime example.

[BobL]

TTC Ping

[dwilli]

7 billion dollar contract could make every politician in Texas
a millionaire several times over.

What a vehicle for corruption this deal is.

[Brellium]

He can't, federal law prohibits tolls being placed on any Freeway which federal funds were spent building.

[Endeavor]

Sounds like a horse swindle to me.

[corbe]

The I35 corridor between San Antonio and Austin is in the Final stages of upgrade to 4 Lane, New Braunfels and San Marcos being the few remaining bottlenecks, But this portion is already close to capacity, IMHO. But, living in Texas most my Life I do smell a RAT here. Thats a lot of money, someones gonna pay and it will probably be the taxpayers of Texas if the past is any indication.

[McLynnan]

I'm suspicious too, but do you really think I-35 is underutilized? I drive the section between Austin and Dallas fairly regularly, and feel I'm taking my life in my hands with every white knuckled trip. It's congested and dangerous, and road rage seems to be on the increase.

[Willie Green]

Know anything about this?

[red-dawg]

more info here.
http://www.corridorwatch.org/ttc/index.htm

[PeaceBeWithYou]

Cintra Consortium-(Cintra, Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A.)

Cintra
Ferrovial-Agromán
Zachry Construction Corporation
Earth Tech, Inc.
PriceWaterhouseCooper
JP Morgan Securities
Bracewell & Patterson
Pate Engineers, Inc.
Aguirre & Fields LP
Rodriguez Transportation Group
OTHON, Inc.
Railroad Industries Incorporated
Amey
Mercator
Public Resources Advisory Group
Southwestern Capital Markets
National Corporate Network
HRM Consultants

[PAR35]

runs parallel to a freeway that is mostly underutilized.

Mostly underutilized? Have you driven between Dallas and Austin on I-35? Add a few hundred Mexican trucks a week thanks to NAFTA, and you'll have folks more than willing to pay the cost of a tank of gas to ride a tollway at 85 mph.

[Xenalyte]

Be nice if the headline told us which state.

[Diddle E. Squat]

The starter of this thread is completely misleading on this issue, as was exposed in this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1299709/posts

Forced to adjust his tune several times as one lie after another was exposed by numerous posters.

The bottom line is that this freeway corridor is crowded, with nearly 250,000 more residents added EACH YEAR! Additionally this is the primary corridor for freight coming out of Mexico into the US. Yes the demand is there, ask anyone who has to travel I-35 any weekend, or commute it in San Antonio, Austin, Ft. Worth, and Dallas. The 85 mph speed limit will be a big draw, and by tolling this will be built years before TXDOT could afford to do it. The reason for that is the company can borrow against the long-term future revenue stream, quickly raising capital better than the traditional bonding process. And its a user fee, so you only pay for it if you choose to use it. Far closer to capitalism and conservatism than forcing everyone to pay for roads they may never use by exacting increased taxes without choice.

[TXnMA]

"When our hair is gray, we will be able to tell our grandchildren that we were in a Texas Department of Transportation meeting room when one of the most extraordinary dumb@$$ plans was laid out for the people of Texas,"... RINO Perry

[Erasmus]

Pardon me if I seem a bit suspicious here, but I'm supposed to believe that a private company is willing to spend $7.2 Billion of its own money to build a toll road that runs parallel to a freeway that is mostly underutilized.

Underutilized? WTF???

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

"When our hair is gray, we will be able to tell our grandchildren that we were in a Texas Department of Transportation meeting room when one of the most extraordinary plans was laid out for the people of Texas," Perry said. "I hope there are a lot of people in this room that are knocked back on their heels saying, 'I can't believe it.' Well, believe it."

We will tell our grandchildren of how our extraordinary plans ruined local economies, ran numerous Texans off their land, and put the state's taxpayers on the hook for massive debts, all for a problem that could have been solved by widening I-35 a little...