Posted on 12/05/2006 9:01:33 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
The proposed Trans-Texas Corridor has been touted as a means to ease congestion along Interstate 35 by siphoning off some of the thousands of trucks that use the interstate each day. Unfortunately, proponents of the massive project may have trouble getting some truckers interested in paying a toll to haul their goods across the state.
According to the Texas Department of Transportation, passenger vehicles could pay 15.2 cents per mile and truck drivers 58.5 cents per mile to drive on the 370-mile corridor. The fees were set as part of a master plan for the 1,200-foot-wide tollway, rail and utility corridor developed by international firm Cintra-Zachry. The company is expected to spend $8.8 billion to build the road and pay the state $1.9 billion for the opportunity, according to the plan. The company then would have rights to recoup its expenses and make a profit by charging tolls for 50 years.
But for truck drivers like Joe and Sarah Herschberger, such a toll would add too big a burden to their operating expenses. The husband-and-wife truck-driving team from Pennsylvania, taking a break at a Waco truck stop last week, said they drive across the country on a regular basis and avoid tolls whenever they can.
“We don’t work for a company, we own our rig, so all our expenses come out of our pockets,” Joe said.
“We get paid about $1,500 a month, and most of that goes back into the truck in operating expenses,” Sarah added. “With the cost of gas lately, there’s not much left over for us.”
Some national trucking companies also say that they don’t send their drivers on toll roads and that the Trans-Texas Corridor won’t be different.
“We are not in favor of a toll road. That’s the way my company feels about it,” said Glen Burnett, manager of the Waco service center for the North Carolina-based Old Dominion Freight Line. “If (I-35) is still open and free, we are going to send our trucks on it. Why pay a toll when you can go for free?”
Concern over tolls
Such sentiments have raised concerns for Waco resident Roy Walthall and other members of the Trans-Texas Corridor Advisory Committee. Walthall said he does not consider charging a toll a good solution to reducing I-35 congestion.
“We just keep scratching our heads about it,” Walthall said of the advisory committee. “How are you going to make a profit if nobody will pay to use the thing? They keep saying we do this all over the world and make millions of dollars, but I’m not sure how that’s going to work here.”
Walthall said one solution might be to move more freight by rail lines proposed as part of the corridor. Another would be to build toll roads only as routes around congested areas such as Austin and the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
Ken Roberts, spokesman for the highway department’s Waco office, said transportation officials “generally agree” that not all truckers will pay a toll to drive the corridor.
“But if we could get 10 percent to take the Trans-Texas Corridor, we could make a difference,” Roberts said. “Of the 80,000 vehicles a day on I-35, a third of those are trucks. It could be a significant reduction.”
Roberts said some truckers also may avoid the corridor because they need to stop regularly at cities along the interstate as part of their delivery routes. Cross-country truck drivers would benefit more from the planned road, he said.
John Esparza, president and CEO of the Texas Motor Transportation Association, agreed it is not safe to assume trucks will use the corridor in great numbers. But he applauded state officials for trying innovative ways to expand the state’s roadways.
“It’s not about the trucks on the tolls but the passenger vehicles on the tolls that will contribute to the ultimate goal of offering a safe, viable alternative to those who are willing to use it,” Esparza said.
If you think the whining sheeple will have any effect on whether or not this crony-capitalist monstrosity gets built, you haven't been paying attention. Gov. Goodhair, (RINO) is going to make sure this thing gets done no matter what else get accomplished or negleglected during his next term.
Texas is a one-party state. Anywhere you see that, you get corruption writ large.
( PA. 'pike 17.7 cents/mi )
That's just till Fast Eddie sells it and pockets the money.
FWIW, it's the Lt. Gov., not the Gov. in tejas that rules from his throne.
LOL Politicians in Texas can't be that stupid. Can they?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
i drive a truck and asked my boss about this
, his words say it all
"aint no damn way"
and on the other question if that couple is only turning 1500.00 before expenses (or after for that matter) they need to sell that beast and go back to company driving i make close to that weekly (before uncle sugar gets his cut of course)
Hopefully, Gov. Good Hair and those who think the TTC is a good thing will get the hint - NOBODY wants or supports this white elephant!!
This is one baby that can be thrown out with the bathwater!!!
I don't see how these people can live on $1500/mo before truck costs.
The only way I see even the fleets paying this outlandish level of toll is if they could get certain loads across Texas faster.
Are they looking at higher speed limits on this road? Most probably not.
So there's the answer right there: increased costs for not much increase in time savings means truckers won't use it unless the alternative roads are absolutely clogged.
Truckers will use an alternate route that costs them money if it does one of two things:
1. Allows them more miles per logbook hour.
2. Avoid scales or inspection points, which also costs them time (and hassle).
Unlike folks just motoring along in their cars, truckers have limits on how many hours per day they can be driving, how many hours they have to spend off the road, etc. Their job is to move the load the maximum number of miles in those 10 hours they can drive per day.
Well, that's their problem. They need to trade that gas guzzler in for a diesel.
Neither do I, unless the truck ain't moving much.
There are some long-haul truckers who have very little in the way of home expenses -- they literally live most all their life on the road, so some have only a PO box and voter registration in some state of their choosing.
Most of these folks are young, single and male, tho, and probably not owner/operators.
For a young man that is willing to work and watch his expenses, trucking, especially as half of a team, is a good way to make good money. "Team" drivers (where there is one guy driving and the other guy in the sleeper), can keep a truck moving 24/7 and they get paid a premium because the load doesn't stop. Once a guy has three years, a clean record and gets a hazmat endorsement, he can start to make even more money. Thanks to Sen. Chuck "Cereal Killer" Schumer, the number of things considered "hazardous materials" in a truckload has gone through the roof, and you need a hazmat endorsement to your CDL to haul this stuff.
Want to hear something outlandish?
Wet hay (as in, you were hauling hay and it decided to rain) is now considered "hazardous material."
About the LTG, under normal circumstances, you would be right. However, Gov. Goodhair is running the show on this one, as it needs no more legislooter approval from what I understand. It's just going to be pushed right on through, despite the overwhelming opposition reported at every meeting they've had across the state that allowed 'citizen' input. What we think doesn't matter. The powers that be want it, so it is going to happen. I hope I'm wrong about that, but I seriously doubt it.
Plus, tolls are tax deductible, so the actual toll cost will be reduced. Plus, the tolls will prevent the fuel tax/price of fuel from rising as much.
The TTC planners are looking at speeds up to 85 miles/hour.
Well, not this model year. The new ultra-low sulfur regulation on diesel in this country has apparently made it impossible to sell 2007 diesel cars in this country.
WHAAAAAAAA??? Because of fungal spores, perhaps?
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