Texas House debates TxDOT overhaul, toll roads

From News 8 Austin, May 8, 2009...

House lawmakers are wrangling over a Sunset Bill to make top-to-bottom changes in the way theTexas Department of Transportation operates.

The issue of toll roads is a significant part.

State Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, added two of the more than 160 suggested amendments to the bill. One regards uniform signage.

"You've got to show clearly that it's a toll road you're getting on, you've got to clearly show if there's a payment restriction, like 'Toll Tag only' and you've got to tell people what they're paying for their tolls," Hochberg said.

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Federal stimulus money could go to build Texas toll roads

From KEYE, March 3, 2009...

The federal stimulus plan includes billions of dollars to improve Texas roads and bridges – but not everyone agrees with how the Texas Department of Transportation plans to spend its share of the money.

That’s because it includes hundreds of millions of dollars for toll roads.

The plan also includes a lot of money for non-toll projects – such as one at the intersection of Highway 290 and Highway 183 in East Austin. Right now to change from one highway to the other, drivers have to exit and wait at a light. TxDOT proposes building a direct connection between the roads.

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Advocacy groups protest TxDOT stimulus projects

From News 8 Austin, march 3, 2009...

The Texas Department of Transportation will vote Thursday on whether to approve its portion of the federal stimulus package, but not if advocacy groups have anything to say about it.

Activists from across the state convened on the east steps of the Texas Capitol Tuesday to persuade lawmakers to stop TxDOT from passing the $1.2 billion measure.

"TxDOT needs to slow down, and do the right thing with our stimulus money," Citizens' Transportation Coalition's Robin Holzer said.

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TxDOT Chair: $313B needed for Tex. transportation over 20 years

From Austin Business Journal, January 21, 2009...

Deirdre Delisi, chair of the Texas Department of Transportation, spoke to members of the Real Estate Council of Austin on Wednesday about TxDOT’s conversations with legislators and funding options for future mobility.

Delisi had a rapt audience, and acknowledged the need for effective transportation in continuing economic development. She touched on the TxDOT’s “Innovative Connectivity” plan, the department’s goals for working with local governments, recommendations from the state’s Sunset Commission and statewide funding needs.

The department’s 2030 Committee has finished a preliminary plan, Delisi said, that estimates the state will need $313 billion between 2009 and 2030 to adequately meet Texas’ transportation needs. The department has also identified $6 billion in shovel-ready transportation projects that could begin this year with adeqaute funding.

Where that money will come from, though, is not yet clear, she said.

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Corridor tab: At least $131 million

From statesman, January 9, 2009...

The Texas Department of Transportation has spent at least $131 million so far developing Trans-Texas Corridor projects, according to a report on the agency Web site.

Although the corridor as an overall vision for the state's transportation future was declared dead this week by agency officials and the originator of that vision, Gov. Rick Perry, that spending figure will continue to grow. Environmental studies are far from complete on two ongoing projects: a tollway twin to Interstate 35 from San Antonio to Oklahoma and the Interstate 69 toll road from Brownsville to Texarkana .

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Residents react to pulled plug on Trans-Texas Corridor

From News 8 Austin, January 7, 2009...

Eddy resident Willis Wilcox, 82, has lived in the same town all his life.

He's seen many buildings and roads go up but said he probably won't be around to see the finished Trans-Texas Corridor or the controversial super-highway that may be called by any other name.

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TxDOT scraps Trans-Texas Corridor

From Austin Business Journal, January 6, 2009...

The Texas Department of Transportation said Tuesday the organization has revamped its vision for the controversial Trans-Texas Corridor, a project introduced in 2002.

If maintained in its current form, the Trans-Texas Corridor would have significantly changed the functions of Interstates 35 and 69 by creating transportation corridors that would have sustained multiple modes of transportation. The original plan proposed a corridor that would have been 1,200 feet in width.

TxDOT said Tuesday that because of citizen input the agency is now unveiling the Innovative Connectivity in Texas/Vision 2009 proposal -- a campaign that will focus on altering the width of the Trans-Texas Corridor development, while also paying attention to citizen and community groups that have voiced concerns over whether the original project addressed the real needs of communities surrounding the corridor project.

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TxDOT may soon get more legislative oversight

From News 8 Austin, December 16, 2008...

Mel Borel drove to Austin from San Antonio to drive home a point about the Texas Department of Transportation.

"They're essentially running over the people of the state of Texas, which is just not right," Borel said.

Borel believes the agency has spent too much of taxpayers money and tried to take people's land away to build a super highway. He's happy to know that some lawmakers are asking for big changes.

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TxDOT preparing plan for 2 rail corridors

From News 8 Austin, December 25, 2008...

Advocates of high-speed rail in Texas are urging lawmakers and investors to develop corridors to take advantage of a generous match program from the federal government.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is promising an 80-20 match with local or state funds. Experts said that's a nearly unprecedented match for rail, which usually requires a 50 percent contribution from local sources.

The department has designated 11 high-speed rail corridors nationally, including two that come through Texas.

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TxDOT official: Money still short

From Taylor Daily Press, October 23, 2008...

A Texas Department of Transportation regional official informed county commissioners Tuesday that the beleaguered agency’s funding issues had not been solved as of yet, and likely would continue well in to next year if not further.

It appears that TxDOT will find a source of funding for projects in the county, likely by going further into debt, Austin Regional Engineer for TxDOT Bob Daigh said. Daigh will return to the court in a few weeks with more precise plans on what construction the agency will be able to fund for the county.

“I wish I could be rosy, but it would be untruthful. We have finance problems,” Daigh said.

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TxDOT might be in the money again

From statesman, September 29, 2008...

The Texas Department of Transportation, which has alternated between fiscal gluttony and subsistence the past few years, may be about to belly up to a feast again.

A feast paid for with money to be borrowed, mind you. Given the state of credit markets, one hesitates to reach for the salt right away. But absent the financial Armageddon that the president and others have been gabbing about, TxDOT might be sitting on an $8 billion stash this time next year.

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TxDOT says highway fund close to depletion

From Austin Business Journal, September 9, 2008...

The Texas Department of Transportation issued a warning Monday saying that TxDOT, along with 49 other state transportation departments, have been notified that the federal Highway Trust Fund is low on funding.

TxDOT says until the situation is resolved, the Federal Highway Administration will be slowing its rate of reimbursements to states.

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Audit knocks TxDOT for $1.1 billion error

From statesman, August 29, 2008...

The Texas Department of Transportation made a $1.1 billion accounting mistake last year through a mixture of "ineffective internal communication, a complex reporting structure and misunderstanding" of its data, according to a report by the state auditor's office released Thursday.

The agency kept the error out of public view for four months by failing to immediately report it to legislators, affected state and local officials and its governing commission, at least in a public forum, the audit found.

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