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TxDOT: I-35 toll twin officially dead
The tollroad twin to Interstate 35, once the centerpiece of Gov. Rick Perry’s Trans-Texas Corridor plan, is officially dead, the Texas Department of Transportation announced today.
The department, which has spent years on a huge environmental study of the corridor from Dallas to San Antonio, will officially recommend to the Federal Highway Administration that no action be taken on the road.
“I don’t think I have ever seen a no-build recommendation in a TxDOT environmental impact study,” state Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said in a statement. “It says a lot about today’s Transportation Commission and their responsiveness to the public.”
The environmental study had been in limbo for more than three years after TxDOT had unveiled a 4,000-page draft version with great fanfare at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
A final version of that environmental plan, which narrowed the possible path of the road down to a 10-mile-wide corridor, was expected to come out a year or so later. Smaller studies on individual road segments were to follow. But that final environmental statement remained an unfinished product until now, albeit with a different and unexpected conclusion: do nothing.
“… (P)eople don’t want it,” Texas Transportation Commission member Bill Meadows told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which first reported the no-build decision. “They said, ‘Hell no.’ “
Perry’s corridor plan, already under fire when the draft plan came out in April 2006, soon thereafter became an issue in the 2006 governor’s race as his political opponents and many rural Texans showed up to speak against the proposed road at 54 hearings up and down the corridor. Then, in early 2007, a majority of the Texas Legislature rebelled against the centerpiece of Perry’s corridor plan: the state issuing long-term leases to private companies to build and operate tollroads.
In January, TxDOT killed the Trans-Texas Corridor name and concept, but the only two projects from it lived on: the I-35 twin and Interstate 69, which would be a tollway from the Rio Grande Valley to Texarkana.
Officials said that project, which unlike the I-35 plan would mainly involve expanding existing highways, remains alive.
But the I-35 plan, given the lack of support legislatively and in rural Texas, was no longer politically viable, a TxDOT official said. That was underscored by an announcement this week that the Texas Farm Bureau, which for several years has opposed the Trans-Texas Corridor plan because it would require acquiring considerable farmland, is endorsing U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Perry’s opponent in the March gubernatorial primary. The group, despite opposing the corridor plan, had endorsed Perry in the 2006 campaign.
Today’s action, which officials say was in process well before the farm bureau announcement, will have no effect on that group’s decision, a spokesman said.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but those statutes are still on the books,” said Gene Hall of the Farm Bureau, referring to law authorizing the Trans-Texas Corridor. The group will stick with Hutchison, he said.
“It was a unanmous vote of the board of directors,” Hall said. “It wasn’t really a hard decision to make. (Perry’s) overalll private property rights record is mostly rhetoric, and we don’t think it’s a good one at all.”
Joe Pounder, a Hutchison spokesman, said “The Trans-Texas Corridor will not be officially dead until Rick Perry is no longer governor and his political appointees are no longer running TxDOT.”
Perry’s office, asked for comment, has not yet responded today.
In January, TxDOT said it had spent $131 million on planning and environmental work for the Trans-Texas Corridor.
The I-35 project seemed to be on the road to reality in December 2004 when Gov. Perry appeared at a Texas Transportation Commission meeting for the announcement that Cintra-Zachry, a consortium led by a Spanish toll road company, would be paid $3.5 million to create a plan for tollroads, rail lines and other facilities for the entire corridor.
If things went as planned, officials said that day, Cintra-Zachry would eventually pay the state $1.2 billion for the right to build more than 300 miles of toll roads, spending another $6 billion of its own money in the process.
Cintra-Zachry produced the plan, and is now building the southern 40 miles of Texas 130, which along with the existing piece of Texas 130 built and operated by TxDOT, likely would have been the southern section of the I-35 corridor road. Now, both roads likely will remain simply Texas 130.
Comments
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By Roadgeek
October 6, 2009 3:05 PM | Link to this
That’s good news. Our governor has a bad case of thinking he walks on water; glad to see him get his feet wet.
By not poor
October 6, 2009 3:06 PM | Link to this
bummer, it would have been nice to set the cruise at 80 and catch spurs and cowboy games without sitting in traffic.
By todd
October 6, 2009 3:20 PM | Link to this
So what plan is there to reduce congestion on IH 35 between the DFW area and San Antonio? Anyone, anyone?
By MONGO
October 6, 2009 3:24 PM | Link to this
Sad day for the future of Texas. A few thousand angry luddites and a handful of political opportunists (Strayhorn, Hutchison, etc.) are to thank for a generation of congestion up and down I-35. THANK YOU, geniuses.
By JA
October 6, 2009 3:24 PM | Link to this
Now we can hopefully kill Ricky “Toll Road” Perry at the voting booth too! As Kay Bailey Hutchison recently noted, “(Texas) needs to return to its traditional systems of free highways”. Go get the clown Kay.
By WhackyWaco
October 6, 2009 3:26 PM | Link to this
Bullet Train.
By Jack
October 6, 2009 3:29 PM | Link to this
Good Grief, make up your minds. You want new you, dont want new roads. The Feds have drastically cut highway funding and the Leg won’t raise the gas tax and the public is against toll roads. Any suggestions on how to pay for them so we don’t sit in the I-35 parking lot?
By Jack
October 6, 2009 3:29 PM | Link to this
Good Grief, make up your minds. You want new roads, you dont want new roads. The Feds have drastically cut highway funding and the Leg won’t raise the gas tax and the public is against toll roads. Any suggestions on how to pay for them so we don’t sit in the I-35 parking lot?
By B
October 6, 2009 3:34 PM | Link to this
todd, that plan consists of widening I-35 between Georgetown and Hilsboro… which is already underway and is being done in segments. And, also building Texas 130 around Austin since I-35 cannot be widened through Austin. Once I-35 is 6 lanes the entire way from Georgetown to Hilsboro, traffic should improve. There are also alternative routes around Hilsboro (to I-35W) and Waco already in place in case congestion occurs in those cities. I don’t think I-35 is that bad once you’re north of Georgetown…
By JA
October 6, 2009 3:43 PM | Link to this
Pay reasonable taxes at the pump and index them to inflation. Of course, you cannot raise gas taxes but every 20 years or so with no equivalent adjustment for inflation and ever expect to stay on top of new roads. The toll road scheme is a big give away to Perry’s corporate donors and his potential future employers.
By Alan
October 6, 2009 3:44 PM | Link to this
Surprised to see messages in support of TTC-35. Most notes I’ve ever seen here are usually whiny complaints about “double taxation” or selling out our infrastructure to Spain, or TXDOT/Perry corruption, and all kinds of other malarkey. BTW, farmers are richly compensated for the “loss” of their land. I have been a supporter of TTC-35 for the reasons stated above - our economy depends on the mobility of products and people across the state, and getting stuck in I35 traffic sucks! I’d rather pay a toll. Build it!!!!
By larry
October 6, 2009 3:45 PM | Link to this
You’re closer than you think Whacky. See, Ben Barnes and Cap Metro decided to invest all proceeds from the Red line into the Bullet Train. Course it’ll be delayed. But man…When it runs, by golly, it’ll be safe. The fare for Austin to Dallas? Around $4,000,000,000,000.00 But if they hire Fred back, he assured me there would be no interim increases.
By Keith N Churchill
October 6, 2009 3:58 PM | Link to this
My concern is more the conversion of highways we’ve already built, or portions of them, to toll roads. Drive out 183 ‘til you get to Lakeline where what had been part of the 183 “free”way turns into the toll road. Those of us who’d rather drive on the roads we paid for with our taxes are shunted off to an access road, complete with a particularly confusing and dangerous dogleg to get back on to the non-toll portion of 183. The article suggests the 69 route remains alive because it relies on “expanding” existing roads. Did I mention what they did with 183. If this is such a good and profitable endeavour, by all means let the private sector get right of ways, without condeming property under the guise of eminent domain, and fund the project without State funded corporate welfare!
By NoZombies
October 6, 2009 4:03 PM | Link to this
A strange zombie of Texas politics is finally laid to rest. I was astounded by how the TTC lived as long as it did against property rights, national pride, and the vested interests of the property owners along the current corridors. Oh yeah, and during a time of “homeland security”, let’s put all of our utilities and transportation lines along the same corridors to make them easier to target.
I’m glad the joke is finally over.
Now, if only that $131 million had been spent towards bullet trains…
By JA
October 6, 2009 4:10 PM | Link to this
You are clueless if you believe “farmers are richly compensated for the loss of their land”. Just go through a negotiation with TXDOT for any type of land and you would know better. Additionally, when farmers and ranchers have their land divided it causes them extra expense that last forever (e.g., moving livestock and equipment).
By kenny
October 6, 2009 4:51 PM | Link to this
Here’s a plan Todd…express lanes…you get on, and ya’ don’t get off until you’re through all the mind numbing, life wasting, suicide generating traffic you fools love to sit in. Or Austin could contact Springfield and inquire about Monorail…monorail…monorail…
By kenny
October 6, 2009 4:59 PM | Link to this
Oh yeah,… this was about the idiot Rick Perry and his land grabbin’, time wasting, tax payer funded lavish donar trip takin’, not listening to longtime Texan wantin’ to kick his urs at public hearin’s…did I mention he wasted a whole bunch of our tax dollars? You can already hear that ol’ winch Kay Bailey preppin’ her response/criticizm to this news.. Perry…Hutchison…Friedman….yawn.
By hg
October 6, 2009 5:05 PM | Link to this
to todd and mongo take the Dick Perry tollroad around austin, there’s NEVER any cars or trucks on it, you can have it ALL to yourself
By fyi
October 6, 2009 5:37 PM | Link to this
How do you win against Perry: [1] Keep repeating his idiotic comments about Texas seceding. [2] Keep repeating his idiotic line about tolls: “it’s either slow roads, no roads, or toll roads” [3] Keep repeating his other (of many) idiotic lines about tolls: “the gas tax would have to be raised $1 per gallon to offset new toll roads” [4] Keep repeating his “adios mofo” off camera remark (not necessarily disparaging, just funny) [5] Keep showing the following YouTube video (start watching after 6 minutes into, and see how Perry ‘manhandles’ Sarah Palin like it’s 1950- that’s sure to get the female voters) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va4hnpu7JKs&feature=related [6] Keep repeating how MOST states have term limits and allowing this idiot another 4 years as gov is pretty much akin to a dictatorship (with 14 total years in office) ETC. ETC. ETC.
By JA
October 6, 2009 8:04 PM | Link to this
Let’s not forget that while Ricky “Toll Road” Perry has been governor new constitutional laws have been enacted that divert close to 30% of the gas tax to fund the DPS and education. On top of that you have more of it going to public transit. So while Perry says he balances the general tax fund, which should really be funding education, DPS, etc he diverts gas taxes that should really be going to roads. No wonder he says he needs tolls. Just say good-bye to Perry at the polls. One term for him was too much. Three cheers for the TX Farm Bureau! If he has lost them he has lost.
By Express43
October 6, 2009 9:09 PM | Link to this
Those of you who never drive I-35 from Austin to Dallas just do not get it. Perhaps a toll road the entire distance was not needed, but a six lane freeway from SA to Dallas is needed. But it will take years before that is completed. Just drive to Dallas on Friday or back to Austin on Sunday, then you will understand. And all you fans going to Texas/OU weekend in Dallas get ready for at least a 6 hour trip, and it will get worse every year. We have more cars, more people driving, but the same number of lanes to Dallas that were there in 1965. Did somebody not do the math?
By impartial_observer
October 6, 2009 9:15 PM | Link to this
SUCK ONE, RAINBOW RICK!!!
By Jon
October 6, 2009 9:33 PM | Link to this
Express43: you’re a certifiable IDIOT if you think toll roads are the only solution here. Go ahead and vote for your boy perry. He’s going to need a couple of votes to avoid total embarrassment. Won’t matter anyways because that clown’s time is UP.
By TreborS
October 6, 2009 11:13 PM | Link to this
Put a fence around TxDot! No health care for Txdot! I actually like the toll roads. Sure is nice to get home in 45 min and not an hour and 30 min every friday and when it rains. I don’t get the the anti toll roaders. Don’t like em? Stay off em! I kinda like then wide open and empty and I will gladly pay for that. Why do you anti toll roaders want to spoil it for the rest of us? This is the USA! Land of the free! Free to roll on the toll roads! Put a fence around the anti toll roaders! No heath care for you either!
By Raphael Hythloday
October 7, 2009 8:28 AM | Link to this
Either toll everything or toll nothing. It’s a mish mash of pay here, don’t pay there, drive around this spot, oops, pay again, don’t pay, take an alternate route. Just let me drive.
Actually, the earlier comment about the economy is the reason for additional transportation routes. I was actually for the Trans Texas Corridor so long as it didn’t build any new roads, only high speed rail.
Back to the economy, our roads are clogged. We can’t move product to market quickly. Build the rail, kill the trucking industry (or make them adapt to a rail environment), get the trucks off the roads, and you will have plenty of room on existing free (taxpayer) roads.
By Albert
October 11, 2009 11:37 AM | Link to this
I’m surprised at the number of Pro-TTC comments here. Somehow people have the idea that the TTC was about all about “YOU!” getting to Dallas for the weekend. The TTC was going to be the First Leg of a Tariff Free International Trade Zone connecting Mexico, USA and Canada. Built to make it easier to truck/rail goods from Central and South America up into the USA and Canada. The TTC was only a part of the entire plan to remove our National Sovereignty and bring about the American Union.
Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America NAFTA North American Union
By lee
October 12, 2009 3:04 PM | Link to this
glad to see the whole mess cut off now they need to take the toll off of 130 tax payers paid for it and should use it for free or else we are all double taxed
By KAzuKi
October 19, 2009 9:28 PM | Link to this
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