Free Republic

OKLAHOMA COUNTY - Work is set to begin next week on a controversial, new turnpike that will carve a path through eastern Oklahoma County. The Eastern Oklahoma County Turnpike will connect I-40 to the Turner Turnpike, traveling roughly along Luther Road. Since the project was first announced almost two and a half years ago, it has drawn protests from many in the area who are set to lose their homes and land. “Even to this day, we don’t have a size or an actual line or layout for sure of what they even want,” said Joe Krecke. What Krecke does...

New York and New Jersey drivers account for nearly one-third of all toll revenues amassed across the U.S., a new report says. Drivers in New York and New Jersey pay the heftiest price for their commutes — accounting for almost one-third of all tolls collected across the U.S., a new report says. The report, which was released by the International Bridges, Tunnels and Turnpike Association, indicated that drivers in the two states forked over an astounding $4 billion of the $13 billion in tolls accrued across the country. “The primary reason (for New York and New Jersey drivers paying the highest...

An entrepreneur has gambled his home on building a toll road after becoming frustrated at council delays in clearing a commuter route blocked by a landslip. Mike Watts is charging motorists £2 per journey to use his bypass made from rolled chippings and avoid the closed section of the A431 between Bath and Bristol. A landslip in February forced the closure of Kelston Road and, while Bath and North East Somerset Council said it has begun repairs costing £1.5 million, the road is not due to reopen until Christmas. Mr. Watts, aged 62 years, said his road, which runs through...

The Texas Department of Transportation is considering the move on a portion of state Highway 130 that would run north-south between Austin and Seguin, a town just east of San Antonio, spokesman Mark Cross said Thursday. The agency is looking at the toll road's topography, checking what speed most drivers are traveling on existing parts of the highway and ensuring the access points and cross-sections would still be safe with an 85 mph speed limit, Cross said.

A New Jersey man has filed a federal lawsuit in New York over the Port Authority's toll increase. Yoel Weisshaus of New Milford claims the increase is an abuse of power and discriminates against him because he is poor. Cash tolls on the George Washington Bridge, Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel, Goethals Bridge, Bayonne Bridge and Outerbridge Crossing went up from $8 to $12 on Sunday. Weisshaus claims the tolls are targeted to restrict minimum-wage earners and will be used to complete the World Trade Center project instead of improving bridges and tunnels. The Record newspaper reports the unemployed Bergen Community...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The operator of a South Carolina toll highway sought bankruptcy protection on Thursday in a rare filing by a municipal entity under Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.Connector 2000 Association Inc filed for protection with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Spartanburg, South Carolina, with more than $200 million of bonds outstanding, court records showed.The nonprofit had been set up in 1996 by the South Carolina Department of Transportation to operate the 16 mile "Southern Connector" toll road in Greenville County, and build an extension to South Carolina Highway 153, records showed.Revenue, however, fell short of...

An aircraft made an emergency landing on the SH 130 toll road and FM 812 Wednesday afternoon. Austin-Travis County EMS spokesman Warren Hassinger said there were six people aboard the plane. Austin Fire Department officials said the aircraft was reportedly a Cherokee attempting to land three miles south of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport . While an ambulance is on the scene, no injuries are reported. One person is being evaluated.

Grassroots call for lawmakers to KILL loaded TxDOT sunset bill Trans Texas Corridor to proceed despite repeal of corridor (Austin, TX – May 28, 2009) The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) sunset bill, HB 300, now over 1,500 pages long, has too much baggage for taxpayers to swallow. HB 300 ends the private toll moratorium (which hands our PUBLIC highways to PRIVATE, foreign toll operators), keeps the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC) alive, opens a new loophole to toll existing freeways, allows counties a 10 cent gas tax hike, raids public employee pension funds to invest in risky private toll roads...

The proposed toll road along US 290 East discriminates against low-income and minority populations in Austin, according to a complaint filed with the Federal Highway Administration. Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA), the leading provider of legal aid in Texas, in conjunction with the SOS Alliance and the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, filed the complaint on behalf of three Travis County residents and the Bluebonnet Neighborhood Association. Filed against the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA), and the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), the complaint argues that the toll road project violates...

Trial could lead to £1.30-a-mile charges Hundreds of drivers are being recruited to take part in government-funded road-pricing trials that could result in charges of up to £1.30 a mile on the most congested roads. The test runs will start early next year in four locations and will involve fitting a satellite-tracking device to the vehicles of volunteers. An on-board unit will automatically deduct payments from a shadow account set up in the driver’s name. Paul Clark, the Transport Minister, confirmed yesterday that the trials would proceed despite previous statements from the Government suggesting that it had abandoned the idea...

A Spanish toll-road operator won the bidding war to operate the Pennsylvania Turnpike, offering $12.8 billion for a 75-year lease, Gov. Rendell said today. The proposal by Abertis Infraestructuras, of Barcelona, must be approved by the Pennsylvania legislature, and legislative leaders in Harrisburg have said the plan faces tough sledding with lawmakers. In making the largest bid ever for the private operation of a U.S. toll road, Abertis partnered with a subsidiary of U.S. investment bank Citigroup, and Spanish investment firm Criteria CaixaCorp. Abertis operates toll roads in Spain, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Argentina and Puerto Rico. The company...

SACRAMENTO - In his first direct responses, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger defended dumping his brother-in-law Bobby Shriver and actor Clint Eastwood from the state Parks and Recreation Commission - a step critics allege was taken in retaliation for their opposition to a six-lane toll road through San Onofre State Park. Led by Shriver and Eastwood, the appointed and unpaid commission has been an outspoken opponent of the toll road, claiming that super highways have no place in state parks. There also are worries that it could irreparably damage a renowned surfing area called Trestles. In an interview with the Orange County...

Take your pick. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger either felt the need for “fresh legs” on the state Park & Recreation Commission or was in the mood for political payback. Whatever his true sentiments, his staff notified his brother-in-law Bobby Shriver and actor Clint Eastwood on Monday that they were no longer needed as state park commissioners. Shriver, 53, a Democrat and brother of First Lady Maria Shriver, and Eastwood, 77, a Republican and former mayor of Carmel, were first appointed to the advisory commission by Gov. Gray Davis in 2001. Three years later, Schwarzenegger reappointed both of them to four-year terms....

Ladies and Gentleman, Michael Parks gave this same presentation to Judge Shifflet at commisoners court on November 14, 2007 to a room full of concerned residents including myself, most of whom, were and still are opposed to this corridor for more than one reason. Throughout the meeting, Mr. Parks stated that Brazos County was in favor of it, and were welcoming it, while the majority of Grimes County residents were telling him Brazos County could have it. Mr. Parks and Brazos county welcomed it allright, right through the middle of our Dear and beautiful county, (no where near Brazos County)...

Three private groups are now in the hunt to build U.S. 281 toll lanes, but two big foreign companies competing just a short while ago to build and lease a larger toll network here have dropped out. The Alamo Regional Mobility Authority board voted Wednesday to let all three teams submit plans to rebuild U.S. 281 north of Loop 1604 into a tollway with free access roads by 2012. It's the fledging agency's first project. "Goodness knows we have been two and a half years getting here," board member Bob Thompson said. "Maybe it's even more important to see the...

WASHINGTON – A cash crunch is fast approaching for the government trust fund that pays to build and repair highways and bridges. The federal tax on a gallon of gas has not risen in 14 years and Congress is reluctant to increase it. People are demanding more fuel-efficient vehicles – less gasoline used, fewer dollars for the fund. States already are looking for other places for road-building money – toll road and consumption-based sales taxes, for example. They worry that the fund's looming shortage could hurt their efforts to address traffic congestion as well as environmental and safety problems caused...

Opposition is mounting against a proposal by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels for a private investor to design and build a 75-mile tolled loop around Indianapolis. About 300 people met last week in Martinsville, IN, according to one of the toll road opponents, Steve Bonney of West Lafayette, IN. More meetings are scheduled to take place later this week. Bonney was one of the plaintiffs last year who files a lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of Daniels’ “Major Moves” transportation plan, which included the 75-year lease of the Indiana Toll Road to private investors. Bonney and others are on record on...

Few things are duller than a committee meeting in the interim between legislative sessions. Witnesses drone on about policy choices involving arcane issues. Some of the committees exist only for a short duration and will vanish once the legislative session begins in January. The media almost never shows up for these meetings, which explains why the November 28 meeting of the Study Commission on Transportation Financing received virtually no attention. But a few minutes into the hearing, David Ellis, a co-author of a report by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) at Texas A&M, dropped a bombshell on the commission. He...

If Gov. Mitch Daniels’ plan to build a tollway on the far outskirts of Indianapolis wins legislative approval, land-use experts said the highway would likely be challenged by landowners unwilling to have their land swallowed up for the project. The bypass, dubbed the Indiana Commerce Connector, would cut about 75 miles through five counties east and south of Indianapolis, altering the landscapes of those largely rural areas. Eminent domain — the government’s seizure of private land — almost certainly would have to be used to acquire land for the tollway, which would be built and operated by a private company....

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.