State discusses Trans-Texas Corridor

The section being considered is roughly 300 miles long, and the entire system, if completed, will be roughly 4000 miles long and take up to around 1000 sq. mi. of Texas.

Well if it doesn't work, we can always use the land for a supercollider. /sarcasm

I love highways. The more, the better for the economy.

[BUT monkey time] BUT, tolls roads DO NOT help the economy. I think that fact can be well proven, but someone who really cares about this thing needs to do some real research.

Take a look at how toll roads helped/hurt the economy of Oklahoma over the last 50 years. Did it help or hurt the whole state for Route 66 to be replaced by the Turner/Will Rogers turnpikes? Since cars were discuraged from exiting the Turnpike at Sapulpa, and other towns en-route, did this depress their economic growth?

The border area at the end of the Will Rogers turnpike should be studied. Is there more economic activity outside the Turnpike gates?

And how has the HE Bailey turnpike helped/hurt the towns between OKC and Lawton? Is there any roadside economic bennefit at all?

Look at a satelite picture of the US taken at night, and you'll see strands of lights between the major cities. These are the economic zones ajoining the highyway. I submit that turnpikes create none of this, because once people pay their money to get on the highway, they will not get off of it and be forced to pay again to get back on.

Oklahoma has been saddled with the Turner, Will Rogers, HE Bailey, and that other turnpike out in McCalister. They are wonderful highways. Yet the state really doesn't have a very good economy, despite the fact that it is a transportation thruway for much of the rest of the country.

I figure there are three ways to make toll roads more workable:

Charge a rate that people don't mind paying (I figure 5 cents a mile would be an ideal rate).
Don't charge more for short trips than for long ones. For example, if driven from end to end, the Ohio Turnpike charges roughly 3.7 cents a mile from end to end, but when I took a short, 5-mile trip on the turnpike, I had to pay 50 cents, or 10 cents a mile. Under my scheme, if someone takes a 2-mile trip, they would only pay 10 cents. If they drove 200 miles, they would pay 10 dollars.
More exits, por favor. Turnpikes, while ideal for long-distance traveling, tend to skimp on exits. I figure, the more exits you have on your facility, the more people will see fit to use it because it better fits their local or regional plans.

Just my $0.02.

Take a look at how toll roads helped/hurt the economy of Oklahoma over the last 50 years. Did it help or hurt the whole state for Route 66 to be replaced by the Turner/Will Rogers turnpikes? Since cars were discuraged from exiting the Turnpike at Sapulpa, and other towns en-route, did this depress their economic growth?

The problem with the Turner Turnpike is that is on an interstate. Highways with lots of exits and side attractions are traffic slowdowns. This is intended to be the ultimate express lane. It is a compliment to our interstates, not a replacement. The last I checked, most of RTE 66 is intact, it wasn't replaced by the interstate system. The old US Highway system was just improved on

He's Ric Williamson's personal aide.