[1rudeboy]

"locked down?" Sounds sinister. So folks won't be able to use one road, and won't use the other because it's too expensive?

[BobL]

Locked down is a strong word - it basically means the road is still there (like the Roman Viaducts), it's just that it will never be expanded, even as Lufkin grows, due to the non-compete clause. Thus, it will get heavily congested and only be useful for local travel.

That's what's really ticked me off about Perry - he can have every foreign company in the world that he wants come here and build toll roads - but it's these non-compete clauses that essentially lock-down the capacity of existing roads that irks me (and believe me, no private company is dumb enough to sign this type of contract without an iron-clad non-compete clause).

It's really no different, well maybe worse since we're talking 50+ years, than politicians that sign union contracts with huge pension provisions. The politicians can leave office fat, dumb, and happy - but years later the citizens have to live with the mess that they made in signing these open-ended contracts.