Don?t Give Up on Toll Roads

The Goldwater Institute ^ | April 1, 2008 | Byron Schlomach

[WOSG]

That’s simply not so for Texas, and the author btw is from Texas.

A lot of toll roads have been for local and regional mobility.
We have a number of tolls roads in central Texas for that purpose.

The anti-toll-road sentiment is a bit over-the-top when one looks at our history. The PA turnpike and Erie canal were built based on these principles and they worked. Lots of toll bridges have worked the same way.

[purpleraine]

I pay taxes for roads. The money is being spent in CA on services for illegals. I oppose toll roads.

[WOSG]

“My gas taxes went to Boston to keep Ted Kennedy and John Kerry in office.”

Private tollroads can cost some money, but its investors loss if it screwed up or has cost overruns ... to really rape the taxpayers - like the $20 billion Big Dig - requires a govt-controlled and operated entity.

[Roccus]

LOL! Not too worry. Waaaayyy too many NYers in the Carolinas which is why I didn’t move there six years ago when I left the Apple. };^)

[Paleo Conservative]

If we fixed these 3 things, we would not have the TxDOT cash crunch that is forcing toll road building.

Good luck getting our money back from Washington after Murtha, Byrd, Kennedy, etc. get their hands on it.

The thing I really like about the the TTC is that it isn't intended to just be highways. It also has rail, transit, and utility corridors. The rail corridors will allow the abandonment and reclamation of lots of old deteriorating rail lines around the state. Not only that, but it gets rid of the dangerous grade level crossings in the middle of towns and cities. The existing rail infrastructure was laid out in the 19th century when Texas had a fraction of its current population and is mostly single tracked. The TTC rail corridors will be double tracked and engineered to 21st century standards. The fact that they will bypass cities and are completely grade separated will mean that it will be possible to travel at 85 mph nonstop across the state. Abandoned rail rights of way could be used for lots of purposes such as commuter rail, street and highway rights of way and recreation.

[Paleo Conservative]

Toll roads and partners, like other states are doing, where foreign entities benefit?

Cintra has lots of experience building toll roads in Europe. Their knowlege would be very helpful in avioding design mistakes that are difficult or very expensive to correct. It would be really stupid to just use local engineering companies to make the same mistakes some other firm made elsewhere decades ago.

Many of the planned new roads in Arizona are really a conduit for Chinese trade. They are either Canamex or Canamex related, which is our state’s version of the Trans Texas Corridor, TTC.
This will connect Mexico, the US and Canada.

Autarky worked so well for the Soviet Union didn't it! If lack of roads protected the wealth of local econmies by keeping out foreign goods, Russia today would be very wealthy! Africa would be and economic powerhouse!