ISSUES IN DEPTH:Trans-Texas Corridor master development plan made public

East Texas Review ^ | October 4, 2006 | William Lutz / LSR

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Trans Texas Corridor project estimate: $8 billion

Ed Sterling

AUSTIN - Details of Cintra/Zachry's proposed contract to build the "Trans Texas Corridor" project have been made public by the Texas Department of Transportation. Cintra, a Spanish firm, says the toll road part of the 50-year-long construction project will cost more than $8 billion.

The Project Cost document, Chapter 4, has a chart showing that main lanes of the road will cost about $5.8 million per mile, while frontage roads will come in at $2.6 million per mile. "Fully Directional" interchanges will set taxpayers back more than $49 million each. Bridges will cost a little more than $1.7 million per crossing.

Also budgeted is a line item for customer service and public relations, at $30,360 per mile, per year.

Anyone who has a fast computer connection and plenty of time to read can go to the state agency's Web site and download the contract and related documents: 31 different files in all.

Plans include separate lanes for passenger vehicles and large trucks, freight railways, high-speed commuter railways, and infrastructure for utilities including:

 water lines

 oil and gas pipelines, and

 transmission lines for electricity, broadband and other telecommunications services.

If the 600-odd mile highway project becomes a reality, drivers will have an alternative to Interstate 35, which runs from Laredo through San Antonio, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth to the Oklahoma border.

There's also a high-speed rail component to the Trans Texas Corridor Project, and its cost is estimated at more than $8 billion. Plans are for rail lines to connect San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth.

At public hearings around the state, opposition so far has been registered by land and other property owners along the proposed construction route, anti-tax groups and individuals and government watchdogs.

A final vote on the project is forthcoming.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Trans-Texas Corridor PING!

[Lunatic Fringe]

$500 Billion Road to Nowhere

[MrEdd]

Texas doesn't need more toll roads that few people use. The rail lines are a good idea, but pay market prices - no immanent domain.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[TexasRepublic]

A 100-mile journey at 12.5 cents per mile would cost $12.50.

That sucks.

[TexanToTheCore]

Round trip from Houston to San Antio and back would be about 50.00. Y'all in SA can start shutting down those theme parks any day now.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[hershey]

Surely Mexican trucks will be exempt from all tolls.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

bump.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

You're welcome.

[sheana]

Of course they will be. In California they are exempt from our smog laws.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Surely Mexican trucks will be exempt from all tolls.

Only if they pay us "la mordita."

[Kimberly GG]

*ping* for smartass & JP(if you haven't received already)

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

That reminds me of the cost of the Auto-strata in Italy. In the late 80s, I took three trips from Germany to Rome, Sienna, and Venice. The trip to Rome cost about $200 round trip on the auto-strata tolls. It does keep traffic off the highway, and we were able to drive 150KPH (speed limit 130KPH).

[wolfcreek]

We're going to Hell in a handbasket and there's a shortage of handbaskets. (stole that one from Rush)


I've had 3 sinus infections in a month from the dust of a 11mile tollroad being constucted near our home. Stop the Madness.....I want to breath!

[Diddle E. Squat]

The first article is well-done, the 2nd is typical journalism, where the author is either too lazy to comprehend what he is writing about and get the facts straight or dishonest in pursuing his agenda. For example:

"Fully Directional" interchanges will set taxpayers back more than $49 million each.

They won't cost taxpayers a single penny, since the toll company would pay 100% of the construction costs plus pay more than $2 billion to the state upfront for rights fees. $2.3 billion that can be used on other roads instead of spending taxpayer money.

[Diddle E. Squat]

$500 Billion Road to Nowhere

As I've pointed out to you several times before over the last year, that is a CONCEPTUAL plan of possible routes that MAY be possible over the next 50 years. Each would be evaluated independently and only pursued if enough market demand (traffic growth) develops. It was just a starter concept, and if you look at the new proposals you'll find that the I-35 portion has already changed substantially. And the buildout cost was estimated at $184 billion, not $500 billion (a number you keep just pulling out of your butt.)

[Lunatic Fringe]

And the buildout cost was estimated at $184 billion

Yes, you can trust that number. The government did the calculations, so it is probably correct.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Texas doesn't need more toll roads that few people use

Beltway 8, The Westpark Tollway, The North Dallas Tollway, and the George Bush Turnpike are all packed every rush hour. Texas seems to be packed with these nobodies, and 400,000 more are added EVERY YEAR (most not from Mexico, in case anyone wants to throw out that red herring, only Florida has more persons from other states moving to it.)