Texas Approves The NAFTA Super Highway from Brownsville to Texarkana
A team led by Zachry American and ACS Infrastructure (Zachry/ACS) was selected by the Texas Transportation Commission to produce a master development and financial plan for proposed improvements along I-69/TTC.
The planning work by the developer and TxDOT will focus on using existing highway facilities wherever possible for this statewide corridor. To pay for the portion of I-69 that runs through South Texas, the Zachry group proposes partnerships with area governmental entities to construct and operate $1.5 billion worth of toll projects that would generate the revenue to develop U.S. Highway 77. Those projects include toll lanes to handle additional capacity on South Padre Island Drive from the Crosstown Expressway to Ennis Joslin Road.
See keeptexasmoving.com
Zachry/ACS’ proposal also includes working with local authorities to construct and operate $1.5 billion worth of toll projects in South Texas that would generate revenue to develop U.S. Highway 77 to interstate standards. Zachry/ACS proposes to develop seven projects and use the toll revenues to help finance the sections of U.S. 77 that would be upgraded to interstate standards without the need for additional tolls on that highway.
The contract will include the right of first negotiation for Zachry/ACS to perform work on certain projects. If TxDOT moves forward with the actual design, construction, financing, maintenance and operation of any specific projects identified in the master development plan, those projects will be governed by separate facility agreements that would require additional action by the Transportation Commission.
In addition, specific projects would require coordination with local governmental entities and input from the I-69 Corridor Advisory Committee and the Segment Advisory Committees.
What’s next:
* Negotiate final terms of master CDA
* Federal Highway Administration concurrence with award
* Attorney General concurrence with legal sufficiency
* Legislative Budget Board concurrence
* Submit CDA to State Audit Office
* 12-18 month master planning process capped at $5 million
Texans are spending too much time in the slow lane – and we're paying for it in wasted time, increased business costs and at the pump. Essentially, it amounts to a hidden tax. Commutes are taking longer. Important transportation infrastructure can't be built fast enough to keep up with demand. And Texas must compete with the rest of the globe as trading activity increases across state lines and our international borders.
There's a lot to lose if Texas doesn't keep up. The Dallas Federal Reserve Bank puts Texas as the top growth economy in the country, and Texas is a top exporter of goods.
A prosperous economy depends on a reliable transportation system, and at the Texas Department of Transportation, we're putting plans in place to keep Texas' top spot on the economic horizon, allowing Texans and Texas-made goods to stay at the top of the market.
TxDOT has been investigating the effects added capacity has on mobility for individual travelers and freight transporters. What the department has found is that these studies show a high rate of return for the various types of road investments in Texas, whether in increased personal income, gross regional product, or employment.
Freight Movement
Without freight transportation, the jam you put on your toast this morning or the clothes you are wearing would never have gotten to you. Indeed, Americans depend on freight transportation to move raw materials like lumber, coal and petroleum that become finished goods like medical supplies, household furniture and computers that many of us depend on daily.
Freight transportation literally keeps America moving. In 2002, the most recent data available from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, more than 19 billion tons of freight, valued at $13 trillion, was carried over 4.4 trillion ton-miles in the United States. Texas exports for 2006 totaled $150.8 billion, which is $22.1 billion more than 2005 and represents a 17.2 percent increase; additionally, for the fifth year in a row, Texas ranked as number one in export revenues in 2006.2
In Texas, as well as the rest of the country, there is an increasing demand for moving people and goods. Companies are moving more toward "manufacturing to order" and "just in time" delivery, which puts more demand on an already strained transportation system.3 And absent new funding solutions, only about six percent of new road capacity is expected to be added in the next quarter century; fortunately, Texas has a plan to keep those goods going to market and getting supplies to factories.
The Trans-Texas Corridor
Most Texans have heard the predictions: the Texas of tomorrow will look substantially different than the Texas of today. Some demographers predict that the population of Texas could reach the 51 million mark by 2040. And it is a sure bet that those additional Texans will put a lot more miles on our roadways.
So how do we prepare for those residents who will expect and demand a transportation system that will accommodate their driving needs? It's called the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC), and it is part of the Texas Department of Transportation's plan to keep Texas moving and growing. The TTC, once completed, is expected to reap big dividends for Texas.
According to a report commissioned by TxDOT and conducted by Texas economist Ray Perryman, Ph.D., the Trans-Texas Corridor has the potential to:
* Contribute annual gains of $1.6 trillion in expenditures
* Increase the gross state product by $665.9 billion
* Boost personal income in Texas by $376 billion
* Generate 3.7 million permanent jobs
Rural areas of Texas will also benefit from the TTC as the value of agricultural land is expected to increase.
Other ways we are working to expand economic opportunity:
* Creating new trade and transport corridors
* Adding capacity to reduce congestion
* Empowering local and regional leaders to make local and regional transportation decisions
* Providing tolled lanes that allow businesses to improve efficiency and get employees to work faster
* Improving rail lines and crossings to move goods more quickly and attract trade