Spanish firm to build and run new PFI toll road in Texas

International Construction Review ^ | 25 August 2006

[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.”

[raybbr]

No thank you. I have all the information I need from Mr "Mofo" I need. I live and breath his BS everyday here near the "peoples republic of Austin."

Hmmm.... Do you think Bush has had nothing to do with this? If you do then you need more information.

I don't think anyone will go to jail. It's all about business now not soveriegnty or even patriotism. Bush and his cronies believe in the one world concept especially when it comes to the Americas.

If you doubt me read this. Not just the quote but go read the whole speech.

We are now one of the largest Spanish-speaking nations in the world. We're a major source of Latin music, journalism and culture.

Just go to Miami, or San Antonio, Los Angeles, Chicago or West New York, New Jersey ... and close your eyes and listen. You could just as easily be in Santo Domingo or Santiago, or San Miguel de Allende.

For years our nation has debated this change -- some have praised it and others have resented it. By nominating me, my party has made a choice to welcome the new America.

As I speak, we are celebrating the success of democracy in Mexico.

George Bush from a campaign speech in Miami, August 2000.

You can read the speech here.

Here is an excerpt of a good critique of that speech:

In equating our intimate historic bonds to our mother country and to Canada with our ties to Mexico, W. shows a staggering ignorance of the civilizational facts of life. The reason we are so close to Britain and Canada is that we share with them a common historical culture, language, literature, and legal system, as well as similar standards of behavior, expectations of public officials, and so on. My Bush Epiphany By Lawrence Auster

The Path to National Suicide by Lawrence Auster (1990)

An essay on multi-culturalism and immigration.

[1rudeboy]

Don't we have Americans that would build things?

Sure we do. But they tend to bid too highly on government projects. My understanding that the second-place bid on the Indiana Toll Road project was double or triple the winner's.

[1rudeboy]

Something was wrong with that Toronto/Canadian contract. I've never found out the real story. Cintra's 99-year lease of the Chicago Skyway allows for the toll to be doubled to $5 by 2017, and adjusted for inflation thereafter.

[Paul Ross]

..this looks like a Texas deal.

The Texas Republican Party has explicitly rejected it, the whole concept...with extreme prejudice, Republican platform calls for scuttling Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor Delegates back border barrier:

Texas Republicans wrapped up their two-day convention in the Alamo City on Saturday by adopting a party platform demanding that a "physical barrier" be built along the Rio Grande.

And they blamed the federal government, which has been under full Republican control since the 2002 elections, for neglecting border security.

...In the state GOP platform... Republicans also called for scuttling Gov. Rick Perry's chief transportation initiative, the Trans-Texas Corridor.

The platform now says the mammoth system of highways, tollways and rail lines would infringe on private-property rights.

Sounds like the REAL TEXANS have already made up their mind against this.

What does the President have to do with it?

As to the scope of the Federal involvement, it sounds like it has already hit $500 million committed. And the likelihood of Eminent Domain abuse for this project is extremely high based on how it has already been pushed ahead:

The TTC was specifically excluded from the recently adopted law that otherwise prohibits the use of eminent domain for economic development purposes. TxDOT can and will use eminent domain to acquire property for the TTC which will be operated as a commercial for-profit enterprise. The concessionaires are private businesses that will use the TTC to generate a profit. It appears from the limited information made available to the public that Cintra Zachry will have a monopoly on at least the toll road portion of the TTC. Providers of service facilities located within the TTC must negotiate with a single entity. The result is monopoly that will drive provider location costs well above the real market value. This is not unlike other turnpikes, airports or sports stadiums. The result is also equally common, highest bidder gets the location and the consumer with limited options pays a premium for goods and services. When was the last time you went to the ballpark for dinner?

Contrast this with the existing Interstate 35 highway up to Duluth. Free the whole way, well-maintained, and yeah, no monopoly on service providers up and down the length. I will take the status quo over this TTC abomination.

[John Valentine]

I agree with you on the substance of the issue. This looks like something that Texas (and the nation) can do without.

But, building highways, even toll roads operated by concessionaires, is a traditional and seemingly proper use of eminent domain. Whether it is a SMART use is another matter.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

NAU-slanted ping.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

How did you indent in your post?

[1rudeboy]

blockquote
/blockquote
with the requisite "<>" symbols.

They are cumulative.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

For the information on how to indent with HTML, much appreciated.

[jveritas]

I think many idiots do not understand that we are still a federal system and that States can do many things without the interference or approval of the Feds or the President.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Given what the Spanish cowards did in Iraq, not a time to reward them with this government corporate welfare project.

Corporate welfare where the "recipient" pays the state $1.2 billion and spends $6 billion in private capital. That's funny!!

[Toddsterpatriot]

why would any foreign company be given the right to collect tolls on this highway for FIFTY years?

They weren't given the right. They bought the right.

[Dane]

Uh foreigners(furriners in phylis schafley/pat buchanan speak) helped finance and build America's railroad system in the 1800's.

I guess you would have been against that also if you were living at that time.

[jpsb]

This highway/road is a dagger aimed at the heart of the USA. A 30 lane super highway, included rail, telecommunications and pipelines starting in central/coastal Mexico and running to Canada with branches going east and west in central continental USA. What more could an invader ask for? The purpose to the highway is to allow Chinese goods to be off loaded in Mexican ports and then shipped via truck rail to the USA. Seems Mexican ports and Mexican shippers are preferred over American posts and American shippers by the Chinese communists.

If you don't think the Bush Admin is involved in this "deal" you are smoking crack.

[1rudeboy]

Maybe the poster meant "reverse corporate welfare?"

[Toddsterpatriot]

Yeah, that's the ticket!

[Dane]

This highway/road is a dagger aimed at the heart of the USA. A 30 lane super highway, included rail, telecommunications and pipelines starting in central/coastal Mexico and running to Canada with branches going east and west in central continental USA. What more could an invader ask for?

Yeah and Gen. Ike is rolling in his grave at such a proposition. Yuh know President Eisenhower who gave America the current Interstate highway system, which of course you jpsb, never ever use.(/sarc)

[mewzilla]

Ferrovial has been busy...

Spanish flier makes daring approach: In what could be the most audacious foreign bid for a British company, Ferrovial is lining up BAA. Richard Wachman asks if the deal will take off

[jpsb]

Big difference Dane, internal networks of highways not the same a continental superhighway that starts at foreign ports. To bad you have zero skills in military science. Folks that got upset at Chinese taking effective control of the Panama Canal will go (rightfully) ballistic over this lame brain idea, from a national security view.

The economic view is not much better, pipe lines good, 30 lane continental super highways bad.

I'm sure this idea will make the open border crowd very happy. Once finished any and all from parts WAY south will have a wide open road into the most of USA or Canada.

[Dane]

Big difference Dane, internal networks of highways not the same a continental superhighway that starts at foreign ports.

Uh jp, Eisenhower's Interstate system was a continental superhighway.

Just waiting for you to bring up the Phyllis Scafley/Buchanan/Bircher talking points that Eisenhower was an atheist any time now.