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Sep 25, 2008 9:47 pm US/Central
Plan Could Help Fund New Texas Toll Roads
Reporting
Jack Fink
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
The nation's credit crisis could delay construction of North Texas toll roads, but there's a new plan that could solve that problem.
Right now, the North Texas Tollway Authority, which operates and builds the area's toll roads, is having trouble finding financing for all of their new projects. Now, area transportation planners say they have a solution that would keep the building of all planned toll roads on time.
When part of the Highway 121 toll road opened this summer, Judy Morris found herself driving on it a lot. "I love it. It's great," she said. "I can get over to anyplace I want to get to, in no time at all."
But the credit crunch is causing problems for the NTTA and their financing of toll road construction. "It appears those initiatives are going to be slowed down tremendously," says Transportation Planner Michael Morris.
Investors still haven't bought all of the bonds to pay off Highway 121 and that must happen by November.
The credit crisis is also making it more difficult for the NTTA to finance the fourth phase of the 161 Toll Road connecting Interstate-30 to Interstate-20, in Grand Prairie.
Now, the lead transportation planner in North Texas, Michael Morris, says he's developed a plan to keep the toll roads on schedule and avoid the troubled bond markets.
Under his plan, the Regional Transportation Council would loan the NTTA the $225 million needed to buy outstanding bonds for the 121 toll.
As for the 161 Toll Road, Morris says under his plan, NTTA would give up its right of first refusal to build the toll. Instead, a private firm would pay at least $500 million to the RTC to build the 161 toll, and then the RTC would split the profits with the NTTA.
The plan would also have the RTC and the NTTA split the cost of building the proposed Trinity Parkway Toll Road, which would connect Highway 183, near Interstate-35 in Dallas, and Central Expressway just south of downtown.
"I think they're some really good ideas in the paper that was presented today," said Regional Transportation Councilmember Linda Koop. "I think the ideas could get our toll road projects built sooner."
But if the NTTA, the Texas Department of Transportation, and the RTC don't agree on a plan, everything could change. Morris says, "Projects would slow down, then building them at 10-percent per year inflation, we'd be building fewer projects in the future because the ones we build would be a lot more expensive."
NTTA Chairman Paul Wageman says he and his board haven't reviewed the plan and haven't agreed to anything, yet. According to Wageman the NTTA is still working closely with TxDOT to move Highway 161 and other toll road projects forward.
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