Free Republic

North Texas grows by 150,000 people a year – about the population of Richardson and Rowlett combined. McKinney and Frisco each add 200 newcomers a week. Keeping pace with the mobility needs of the mushrooming region is a losing proposition if we use only traditional means: state fuel taxes and leveraged federal funds. Yet most positions taken by candidates for governor are unrealistically wed to yesterday's formulas for financing roadways. Here's the size of the North Texas funding gap over the next 25 years: a nearly $28 billion shortage for new highways and related projects, according to the Regional Transportation...

Southern sector's piece of the doughnut Good news for southern Dallas and the south suburbs, which have long clamored for greater attention to their highway needs. Cintra-Zachary, a consortium of Spanish and San Antonio companies, has notified the state transportation department that it wants to build the east-west Loop 9 tollroad project. Next step is a detailed proposal. Loop 9 eventually could be a segment of the proposed Big Doughnut super-outer-loop that would hook into the state's plan for the Trans Texas Corridor.

Just as Dallas and Fort Worth came together over the Wright amendment, civic and business leaders across the region are closing ranks over another transit issue: the state's immense Trans-Texas Corridor project. It's a vital step if North Texas wants to be properly served by the futuristic, privately built tollway. The region's diverse interests need to harmonize in a clear message to Austin in upcoming hearings over where to locate the corridor. Here's where things stand: State transportation officials, after two rounds of meetings, have recommended a path for the multibillion-dollar toll corridor. That 500-mile path closely parallels Interstate 35...