Posted on 08/27/2006 1:17:11 AM PDT by AnimalLover
Grupo Ferrovial, Spain’s construction, infrastructure and services giant, had a busy summer acquiring airports in the UK and Peru. Now it has a concession to build and operate a Texas superhighway.
Construction of the new toll road project, designed to develop an alternative route to Interstate 35 as part of the planned Trans-Texas Corridor is due to start early next year.
This is has been agreed by the Texas Department of Transport under a comprehensive development deal with the Spanish company Cintra - Concesiones de Infrastructuras de Transporte, a member of the Ferrovial group.
Cintra’s partner for the five-year road building programme is the San Antonio-based contractor Zachry Construction Corp, but Ferrovial’s construction company Agroman is getting a share in the business.
Zachry joined with Cintra in a scheme to provide private investment worth $6 billion. The assignment is to design, build and operate a four-lane toll road covering the 500 km distance between Dallas and San Antonio, bypassing the State capital at Austin.
For this concession Cintra is paying the State of Texas $1.2 billion. It gives them the right to build and operate this initial segment of the intended Trans-Texas Corridor.
This would be part of the ‘super-highway’ spanning the United States from the Mexican border at Laredo, making its way through Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma and connecting with the Canadian highway system north of Duluth, Minnesota.
Because it would provide a connection all the way between Canada and Mexico, the project is also described as the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) super highway.
The project as conceived by Cintra and its partners and endorsed by the Texas transport department is certainly ambitious. They have talked about developing a corridor providing two lanes for high speed trucks and three for passenger vehicles in each direction, plus high speed and freight railway lines, possibly also telecommunication cables and oil, gas and water pipelines in an adjacent utilities corridor.
But a corridor of this overall width – maybe as much as 360 m - has alarmed people who stand forced to surrender property in land and buildings to the project. This concern has been sharpened by the disclosure that, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, the developers intend to exercise the principle of ‘eminent domain’ in land acquisition proceedings on the grounds that they are acting as agents of a public authority.
The developers apparently believe that such rights, once established in Texas, could then be applied across the entire 6,500 km length of the NAFTA highway. Whether that proves to be so depends on the outcome of any challenge that might be launched against such a claim.
The Cintra-Zachry partnership is however in a strong position because they have already secured an agreement granting them the right to develop the new highway in Texas. They have also put money down for the privilege.
The first concession within the Trans-Texas Corridor has already been awarded to Cintra. According to a statement by parent company Ferrovial, construction is expected to start early in 2007 once environmental and other permits have been obtained.
These initial contracts, to build two segments of the new toll road 64 km between Austin and Seguin will be performed 50 per cent each by Ferrovial’s construction subsidiary Agroman and Zachry, which has won around $180 million worth of road contracts already this year from the Texas Department of Transport.
Total construction investment in the new contracts is said to be $1.3 billion.
“The new highway”, the statement explained, “will offer an alternative to I-35 between San Antonio and north Austin, making it possible to avoid the highly congested area of central Austin on medium and long-distance journeys.
“The new high capacity road will absorb growth in long-distance truck traffic expected as a result of trade agreements between the United States, Mexico and Canada.”
Cintra has also recently taken over management of the Indiana Toll Road (ITR) after paying $3.8 billion to the State’s finance authority for the transfer of the asset. In a 50:50 consortium with the Australian bank Macquarie, Cintra now has charge of this 250 km highway which links Chicago with the eastern seaboard of the United States.
The concession will run over 75 years.
The company commented: “The project reinforces Cintra’s presence in the U.S., a strategic market for the company: it has a 99-year concession to operate the Chicago Skyway ($1.83 billion) which links with the Indiana Toll Road, and it is a strategic partner of the State of Texas for 50 years to develop the Trans-Texas Corridor, one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects ever undertaken in the United States.”
Got it. You simply want covered wagons to run between Canada and Mexico, but Interstates from coast to coast.
If you really want to get your blood boiling, read some of the posts. There are actually morons defending this. Apparently, I'm not "progressive" enough for them.
No, I want to increase the flow of drugs to middle America, and let illegal aliens run this country into the ground. I want American tax payers to foot the bill, and I want a foreign company to scoop up the profits. I want Americans to be thrown out of their homes without adequate compensation, to line the pockets of foreigners and crooked politicians.
There, am I progressive enough for you now?
there is no welfare here, they pay to the right to build and they do not own anything.
Your so wrong there is no taxpayer funds, the builders cover all the costs. and they don't build developments along the road. check the facts
There, am I progressive enough for you now?
Not really. The TTC will do the following (your score):
1. False
2. False
3. False
4. True
5. False
6. Maybe
You might want to pull your head out of the sand, before somebody paves over it.
Shadow government?.... Not only that but the MsM has totally spiked this story.. Why?... How can the MsM and this administration be on the same team?.. Queer indeed..
Here's some info on this subject from Human Events that might
shed some more light:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=16103
Americans probably will build the thing.
Or maybe illegal aliens...
That's an interesting article, but it doesn't address the real issues. Instead, it focuses on an imaginary conspiracy theory. The truth of the matter is, the whole project is ill-conceived, and bad for America.
bump.
Responding to posts 125 and 127.
1. A 50-year lease is a property right. It will be owned by the Spanish consortium.
2. Taxpayer funds will be used to pay for confiscation of private land at lower than market rates.
3. It is corporate welfare...robbing Peter (taxpayers and landowners) to pay Paul (special interests).
4. You should check the facts rather than trying to pick a fight based on emotion.
the conclusions are so wrong, it hurts. please check the facts
What conclusions are you speaking of - Give me a couple.
Looks like the Teamsters are getting worried too
NAFTA superhighway to mean Mexican drivers, say Teamsters Union
warns of drug-taking truckers, unsafe rigs on planned trade routes
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51712
Debate is heating up. Has anyone read the following
in today's WorldNetDaily
How NAFTA superhighway is built under radar screen
Officials say they see no budget 'earmarks,' because they don't know where to look
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51730
The NAFTA superhighway: Coming soon
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51724
The very real NAFTA superhighway
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51718
Finally, a Poll
What do you think of the NAFTA superhighway connecting Mexico to Canada via U.S.?
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/polls/index.asp?VIEW_RESULTS=Y
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