Photos by Judy McGeary, used by permission
Thousands of people from all over the state of Texas descended on Austin Friday, March 2nd, registering extreme discontent with the Trans Texas Corridor and Mandatory Animal Microchip ID.
A few months earlier, the TTC was described as "a done deal." Now, at the mercy of enraged citizenry, many legislators who sponsored TTC enabling bills are back peddling and attempting to distance themselves from previous support for the private/public partnership toll road, pipeline and rail corridor scheme. Positioned to be the first major leg of a multi-state NAFTA transportation corridor, the TTC would gobble up millions of acres of Texas land, while transferring resources from many to a few over a timeframe of 50 years.
Texans cried out against the TTC. Some came to Austin wearing t-shirt labeled "Tyranny Response Team!" Others called Perry's TTC a Texas Nightmare!
Photos by Tom Blackwell, used by permission.
A few months earlier, the TTC was described as "a done deal." Now, at the mercy of enraged citizenry, many legislators who sponsored TTC enabling bills are back peddling and attempting to distance themselves from previous support for the private/public partnership toll road, pipeline and rail corridor scheme. Positioned to be the first major leg of a multi-state NAFTA transportation corridor, the TTC would gobble up millions of acres of Texas land, while transferring resources from many to a few over a timeframe of 50 years.
Texans cried out against the TTC. Some came to Austin wearing t-shirt labeled "Tyranny Response Team!" Others called Perry's TTC a Texas Nightmare!
For the next five days I will be posting journals on three blogs: Grassroots News You Can Use, Daily Kos and Texas Kos examining how the Toll Scheme and Animal Mandatory Microchip ID plans evolved, their impact on the state and nation, and the methodology of special interest groups and pockets of greedy, ambitious, corrupt local and state elected officials conspired to re-engineer the funding mechanism of transportation in Texas in violation of the public trust.
Jesse James and his gang of bandits and all other bank robbers never pulled off a "job" of the magnitude attempted by "players" who conspired to revise highway construction and replace known models of toll road construction with newer models designed to generate the largest amount of SURPLUS TOLL REVENUE to distribute to local (non elected) Regional Mobility Commissions (RMC) and as profit for private partners. Low bids which would have kept tolls low, and retired the debt as rapidly as possible submitted by reputable toll authorities such as the NTTA (which has operated the North Dallas Toll Road efficiently for decades) were rejected in favor of higher bids and higher toll fees to generate greater up front barrels of pork to be distributed by regional transportation committees on HW121. The Spanish based Cintra was selected by TxDot as the contractor for the I-121 project, a toll project in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. Local toll road operators with positive proven track records in the region for "building good roads at the lowest cost, keeping tolls as low as possible, and retiring the debt as soon as possible" were bypassed because their toll models "did not generate sufficient surplus toll revenue to generate up-front money to pay to the RMC and profit for the private partners."
At the Hearing Thursday it was revealed that TxDot intends to sign contracts on five more transportation projects in the Dallas Fort Worth area in the next 12 months -- and these projects are to be toll projects following the I-121 toll model. One witness describes them as encompassing all the major transportation arteries in the DFW Metroplex. TxDot Chairman Williamson stated that these projects have all been publicized through many hearings with good attendance in the DFW area. However, until Thursday's hearing, none of the activists I know in Tarrant County were aware that any of these roadways (except for I-121) were slated to be contracted as private/public partnerships! The hearings on I-121 were held in Denton and Collin County even though Tarrant County tax money has financed some of the right of way purchases. Most people learned of the I-121 hearings through reports of the letting of the contract to Cintra. Few people attended the TxDot I-121 hearing. Few heard of it before it occurred. TxDot’s TTC hearings last summer drew auditorium and convention halls filled with people. The Senate Hearing in Austin filled up three large hearing rooms. Yet only a few people showed up to the hearings for I-121. The reality is that people have difficulty showing up to hearings that are poorly publicized.
The Senate Hearing on Transportation and Homeland Security was a good start in the right direction for transportation planning it Texas. It is unfortunate that they waited until after TxDot had spent taxpayer money for engineering studies, PR, legal and other expenses in relation to the Trans Texas Corridor to hold it! The Senate Committee on Transportation and Homeland Security Hearing March 1st is the first major step toward a serious examination of the problems which brought the state to this impasse. Senator John Corona, Chairman, is applauded for holding this hearing. It is unfortunate that the hearing was not held prior to TxDot squandering billions of tax dollars. The money already spent on the TTC would have completed one or more of the state's many unfunded transportation projects.
Non compete clauses in the I-121 contract restrict construction of public non-toll roads parallel to the toll road for 50 years. The rejected NTAA bid allowed for 1.5% toll increases every 5 years. The Cintra contract calls for up to 3.5% toll increases every 2 years!
One of the transportation experts testifying at the Senate Committee on Transportation and Homeland Security Hearing estimates that indexing the gasoline tax to pay for road construction will be significantly less expensive for taxpayers than building roads utilizing the I-121 private/public partnership toll model. Travelers on I-121 would probably pay an additional $80 annually in the last year of the contract (year 49) to travel on the toll road if it is paid for by gasoline tax indexing. It is estimated that in year 49 travelers on the toll road under the Cintra TxDot I-121 contract will probably spend $3000.00 annually in tolls!
Crossposted on Daily Kos
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