With 122 comments from readers, and counting, this morning’s story about the North Tarrant Express toll project has obviously touched a nerve. With a few minutes to kill before an interview with NTTA leaders, I thought I’d answer some of the frequent questions raised by commenters and by those who sent me their thoughts directly.
Let me start with Linda from Arlington, who wrote last night to say,
“From your article today on the tollroad bid: “$600 million in state funds to be contributed by the Texas Department of Transportation”
Questions:
1) If TxDOT is out of money and “has to rely on privately funded tollroads”, why on earth is our state gas tax money being given to the tolling companies??????
2) Will this money be paid back and what is this for?
3) If Cintra is going to build the road and then toll us to death in order to make a profit, why is TxDOT spending our gas tax money on a toll project?
This is so frustrating that our state is selling off our highways to the highest bidder. I look forward to hearing if you know the answer to my question.
Good questions, Linda. But I don’t know if it’s fair to say the tax money is going to the pockets of the private company. Here are the answers, in brief.
1. TxDOT says the tolls on the road are not expected to be enough to justify an upfront investment equal to the full construction costs, plus the extra $450 million it would cost to maintain and operate the highways for 52 years. What’s more, the private company, in return for the toll contract and the $600 million, has agreed to rebuild I-820 and SH 183 as free lanes, and improve the free frontage roads. That work would cost about $1 billion itself, TxDOT says.
More Q&A on the jump …
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