TexDOT: No Money to Build New Highways

WOAI ^ | 09/28/2007 | Jim Forsyth

[ElephantinTexas]

TexDOT: No Money to Build New Hghways

Agency blames diversion of state gas tax money, curbs on privately funded toll roads By Jim Forsyth Friday, September 28, 2007 At a time the Texas Department of Transportation is defending spending thousands of dollars on a public relations campaign designed to convince you to support toll roads, the department says it has no money to pay for highway construction, 1200 WOAI's Robert Wood reports.

"The bottom line is, we're running out of money very quickly," TexDOT's Chris Lippincott says.

Lippincott blames decisions by state lawmakers to spend more than $1.5 billion in state gas tax money on pet pork barrel projects, a process painstakingly details by 1200 WOAI news over the last year, as well as hundreds of millions in federal highway dollars lost. TexDOT also blames a two year moratorium on privately funded toll roads which was approved earlier this year by the Texas Legislature.

TexDOT says after fiscal year 2008, which ends September 30, 2008, the department will have no money left for any new highway construction, and says its entire budget will be taken up paying for repairs on existing state highways.

The agency warned that by the early part of the next decade, even funding for repairing existing highways will be in jeopardy.

"That means we won't have as much money for congestion relief," Lippincott says, "We won't be able to build new highways, or new lanes on existing highways."

Lippincott blames 'soaring inflation' which has reduced the ability of the state gasoline tax, which hasn't been raised since the early 1990's.

"Increasing traffic is wearing down our highways. We have a population that increases by a thousand people a day."

But despite this imminent poverty, TexDOT says it will continue to fight attempts by grass roots groups to stop it from spending millions of dollars on 'Keep Texas Moving,' a public relations campaign designed to 'educate' Texans on the need for toll roads, and the Trans Texas Corridor.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[wolfcreek]

This is a power play by TXDOT. They couldn’t woe us with their $6 million taxpayer funded *public comfort* campaign so now, it’s *open wide* we’re shoving it down your throat.

This little tidbit exemplifies their underhanded tactics.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1903817/posts For you Austin area FReepers, if you've ever taken 183 north and tried to avoid the toll road, (going through Ceder Park) you will see what I mean. It's not only a bottleneck but, down right dangerous.