12:25 AM CST on Monday, November 23, 2009
By MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER / The Dallas Morning News
mlindenberger@dallasnews.com
AUSTIN – Lawmakers might have left the Capitol earlier this year without getting much done when it comes to transportation. But they were clear on one point: They wanted the Texas Department of Transportation out of the business of building privately financed toll roads.>>>>>>>>>
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/112309dnmettxdot.43c2816.htmlAT A GLANCE: PRIVATE TOLL ROADS Some private toll roads in Texas:
LBJ FREEWAY: It's a free road now, but Spanish road firm Cintra will begin rebuilding it as a mix of free lanes and tolled lanes beginning mid-2011 or sooner. The $2.1 billion project will take five years, but once completed, drivers will have a choice: Sit in traffic on the free lanes or pay tolls that could reach $1 a mile to take the tolled lanes.
NORTH TARRANT EXPRESS: Another hybrid project, the state of Texas committed hundreds of millions of dollars toward this $2 billion effort. But the work will be done by a team led by Cintra, which will cover the rest of the costs, and collect tolls for 50 years. Construction begins next year and the highway will open by 2015.
INTERSTATE 35E: Not yet a toll project, but with the Transportation Department strapped, the only way this highway will be widened anytime soon will be if toll lanes are added. State officials say the only way it will be able to afford to build it anytime soon will be to partner with a private firm. Once funding is resolved, construction could begin within two to three years.
STATE HIGHWAY 130: In Austin, Cintra paid $25 million upfront as part of a deal struck in 2007 that gives it the right to build and operate a 40-mile stretch of the highway from Austin to Interstate 10 near San Antonio. The state gets a cut of the tolls and avoids costs estimated at well over $1.5 billion. Construction is under way and the road could open as soon as 2012.