David Hendricks: Trans Texas Corridor ambitious undertaking for developers

San Antonio Express-News ^ | February 3, 2005 | David Hendricks

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

About one week to go until the DFW-San Antonio highway agreement is signed, apparently.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Trans-Texas Corridor PING!

Please let me know if you want to be added to or subtracted from this list.

[Texas_Jarhead]

Hard to believe that Texans aren't somehow getting screwed in this whole thing.

[dfwright]

Hard to believe that Texans aren't somehow getting screwed in this whole thing.

You mean other than having huge tracts of land taken away from them? I wonder if the 'tolls' will be affordable for normal folks. It just sounds to me like a big land-grab so some construction companies can make some money, and the well-to-do can have less traffic to deal with. I may be wrong.

[dfwright]

I would like to be added to your trans-texas corridor ping list. Thanks.

[BobL]

"Some members of the San Antonio Transportation Association believe there is no sign of public support for the Trans Texas Corridor"

Boy you can say that again. Aside from a group of wide-eyed, drug-infested, Libertarians, who cannot seem to learn from the disastrous experiments in private highway ownership around North America, I haven't found anyone who thinks positively of the idea.

This is the beginning of the end of Texas as a great state. Start closing the books.

(thanks again Tolerance)

[BobL]

"I wonder if the 'tolls' will be affordable for normal folks."

Cintra is charging about 20 cents (US) per mile in Canada, and just won court rulings allowing them to charge whatever price they want.

The 20 cents per mile comes out to the equivalent of an additional $4.00 per gallon gas tax, if your car gets 20 MPG on the highway (more if you get better gas mileage).

So - to answer your question - NO!!!

[Paleo Conservative]

You mean other than having huge tracts of land taken away from them?

Well someone's land has to be taken to build any road. Where do you think the state got the land on which the current Interstate highways are built? After the current expansion, there's not enough room to add any more lanes on I-35 without condemning more land.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

You're added. :-)

[dfwright]

Well someone's land has to be taken to build any road.

I do understand that. I guess my point would be that taking away a lot of property in order to help some construction companies to make a few dollars, and provide some "Lexus lanes" for a priveleged few doesn't sound like a good idea to me. Again, I may be wrong in my assumptions.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Well, I read in a recent Corridor Watch newsletter that the tolls could go as high as 20 cents a mile. I actually looked at the website for SH 130, a highway that could be incorporated into TTC-35, and the tolls there will average out to 12.5 cents a mile. How many people will drive these roads at these rates, I have no idea.

[BobL]

" Well someone's land has to be taken to build any road."

It does take land to build a highway. Does it a path 1200 feet wide - enough for 100 standard-width lanes (but without anything else)?

No. This thing is wider than most rivers.

What's really angering a lot of people is that their land will be chopped in half, with no hope of ever getting across this monstrosity. Texans will be lucky if Cintra gives us an exit every 10 miles.

[dfwright]

$.20 a mile is unreasonable for me. I can't see paying $28 for a trip from San Antonio to Austin and back. Good grief, at that rate, it would almost be cheaper to fly southwest from SA to Dallas and back than to drive!

[BobL]

The 20 cents per mile is what Cintra is charging Canadians for their privately owned highway - so it's probably the best comparison for is new toll road that they're building.

Tolls on the order of 10 to 15 cents per mile seem to be common for new state-built and operated highways (in Texas and outside of Texas).

Tolls closer to 5 cents per mile are common on older toll roads - mainly in the Northeast and Midwest.


We, obviously, get the worst deal here with Cintra.

[BobL]

"$.20 a mile is unreasonable for me. I can't see paying $28 for a trip from San Antonio to Austin and back. Good grief, at that rate, it would almost be cheaper to fly southwest from SA to Dallas and back than to drive!"

It does totally change the economics. I'm able to operate my cars for about 12 cents per mile (gas and maintenance - I'm stuck with the fixed costs anyway), since they are all more than 10 years old and don't have much depreciation left.

Now Cintra comes along and raises my cost to 32 cents per mile, and everything does change. It may well become cheaper to fly - particularly compared to driving alone.

And by the way, don't think that there will be much left of the freeways after a while. I have no doubt that Cintra's contract with the state will prohibit the state from upgrading its freeways in any way.

[stopem]

Thanks for the ping! I appreciate it.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

You're welcome. :-)

[dfwright]

And by the way, don't think that there will be much left of the freeways after a while. I have no doubt that Cintra's contract with the state will prohibit the state from upgrading its freeways in any way.

I read this somewhere too. That the contract would call for 'no competition', ie no new roads, and also no upgrades on existing hwys, like I35. The only hopeful thing would be if a lot of trucks, corporate drivers, and Lexus owners would take some load off I35 and other highways.

[ken21]

and which of our elected representatives and texas department of transportation officials are getting swiss bank accounts?

[dfwright]

You're added. :-)

Many thanks!