His Way Or The Highway

[rpm]

Either way we lose!:furious

This is what I hate about the Republican party. They are selling us out and the bill will take generations to pay off.

This month's Texas Monthly  has an excellent article on just how they are selling us out to foreign countries and how it will effect every man, woman and child that travels on a Texas highway for years to come.

Thank you, Rick Perry. Now, get on down the ****'n toll road!

[Mini D]

I couldn't view the whole article as it's subscription required. Actually... there was no information provided in the short non-subscription blurb.

It appears as if there's going to be toll highways built by foreign investment groups in Texas?

[rpm]

TxDOT’s plan for toll roads is to surrender public control of these roads by entering into “comprehensive development agreements” (known as CDAs) with private companies, such as the partnership between Cintra, a Spanish company, and Zachry construction in San Antonio, which is building the first link in the Trans-Texas Corridor, an alternative to Interstate 35 known as TTC-35. Cintra-Zachry paid $1 billion to TxDOT for the right to collect tolls for the next fifty years.  

We will have no control over setting tolls. It will also be illegal to spend money to upgrade free roads that are alternative routes to toll roads.

In the past toll roads were paid for with municipal bonds. When the bonds were paid off, the roads became free highways. Under the CDAs the roads will remain private toll roads for the next 50 years. The state will get none of the tolls collected.

[Charon]

In the past toll roads were paid for with municipal bonds. When the bonds were paid off, the roads became free highways.

Serious question here to anybody who may know...

Did that actually ever happen?

I know that in theory that is how it was supposed to work, but it seems (and certainly her in ILL) that around payoff time the local politicians managed to come up with other uses for those funds. Just curious how often toll roads actually became free roads. Sure the hell not likely to happen today.

Charon

[rpm]

I-30 between Dallas and Ft. Worth used to be the DFW Turnpike. After 20 years they tore down the toll booths and it became a free road.

[Charon]

Gotta Love Texas.

Around here, Gov. Hoowdy Doody made a big election year deal out of his "open road tolling" (the RFID transponder system). He spent something like 400,000 taxpayer dollars to put signs up with his name on them at every toll point. While it's neat if you HAVE to pay tolls... a better approach would have been "No toll driving, brought to you by Gov. Blowjobovitch!"

Charon

[RedRadr]

Originally posted by rpm
Either way we lose!:furious

This is what I hate about the Republican party. They are selling us out and the bill will take generations to pay off.

This month's Texas Monthly  has an excellent article on just how they are selling us

   Texas Monthly,    sneer...mite as well quote national enquirer.

[Mini D]

What makes you think that's a republican party issue? There's nothing party based about that decision.

[ByeBye]

There should never be a toll road in the US unless it's an entirely privately owned and funded road.

[Debonair]

or if its named after a guy named "toll"

[DiabloTX]

MMMMMMMmmmmm Tollhouse cookies.

[rpm]

Originally posted by Mini D
What makes you think that's a republican party issue? There's nothing party based about that decision.

I would have to rip-n-paste half the article to explain how Rick Perry got the omnibus transportation bill pushed thru with barely a glance in the 2003 republican controlled Legislature. The result was a scheme in which TxDOT will be taking in billions of dollars from the private sector with no oversight by the Legislature, no responsibility to say how that money will be used, and no assurance for the public that free roads, as well as toll roads, will benefit from that money.

[Halo]

Hard to believe any locality would ever give up control of its roads to a private toll firm, let alone a foreign private toll firm.

[Gunslinger]

There was some talk here in SA that loop 1604 will become a toll road soon.  I missed most of the news about it but if that's true I'm screwed.  That is  the major artery that my house connects to and I use that road to everywhere that is close to my house.

[DiabloTX]

Gawddamned toll roads were one of the reasons I couldn't wait to get out of Virginia when I got off of active duty.

But this really stinks, too.  More same ole same ole it seems.