Toll Roads
Some things, the .gov does a fairly decent job at. And by decent, I mean they don’t screw it up too bad. One of those things is roads, though by looking at Knoxville you wouldn’t know that. Now, there’s talk of toll roads in Tennessee:
The chairman of Tennessee’s House Transportation Committee said Monday he is drafting legislation that would set up a panel to oversee toll roads and public-private road partnerships statewide.
“Right now, there is no toll road commission,” said state Rep.
Well, there shouldn’t be since there are no toll roads. More:
Phillip Pinion, D-Union City. “We have to look at toll roads and public private partnerships. We have to look at all alternative funding.”
The planned legislation comes as state transportation officials struggle with how to raise money to fund public transportation.
Just take it from the schools, that’s what you usually do. Say, hasn’t the state been running at a surplus for the past few years? What about that money?
November 2nd, 2006 at 11:18 am
Some of the midwestern states have started selling off their toll roads to private companies, some of which are foreign. (Indiana and Chicago come to mind.)
Sure the government “saves” money (wonder where they will spend those savings, you know they won’t give it back) but how much infrastructure can you afford to turn over, and what’s the bottom line for Joe Public? There was a time when roads (interstates) were considered vital to defense; is that passe?
It’s one of those things that look good on paper as long as you don’t look too close, but frankly, we need to know more before making a decision. Can’t we let the dust settle in the Midwest before jumping on the trendy bandwagon?
November 2nd, 2006 at 11:42 am
With the taxes we pay in Tennessee there is no need for Toll Roads. Another goofy idea imported from tax happy havens of the North and Midwest.
November 2nd, 2006 at 4:34 pm
Pinion stated the South has many toll roads. Wrong. It has some, not many. But, it soon will have them. Obviosly, Pinion has the inside scoop on what will be happening over the next few years. The politicians are engineering a highway funding crisis so they can lease highways and have them tolled. Cintra is involved in leasing several roads. In 2007 and 2008, they will expected to bid on about 30 projects. President Bush and Congress are responsible for this impending crisis. They are intentionally creating it. Warren Buffett has linked leasing roads and tolling them to selling off pieces of the farm and raising the mortgage. Read on…
Most Highways Nationwide to be Tolled to Pay for NAFTA Super-Corridors
The massive land grab feature of the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC) is also present in other NAFTA Super-Corridors. But, what makes the events in Texas so unique, are how they are related to other issues, and how they will affect all Americans.
The NASCO (North America Supercorridor Coalition) board, which is heavily influenced by Gov. Perry, successfully lobbied to have money for the federal Highway Trust Fund (HTF) moved “off budget.” It seems as though one of the affects of this Enron-style accounting trick is to force the federal HTF to go broke by 2008.
In August 2005, President Bush and Congress signed into a law a major transportation bill called SAFETEA-LU. One of the provisions of it is to immediately use all money that is expected to be placed into the federal HTF through September 2009. In December the U.S. Chamber of Commerce concluded nearly all funds had been used. The federal HTF will go broke by 2008.
Consider TxDOT Commissioner Ric Williamson’s statements, which are not limited to Texas:
“It’s either toll roads, slow roads, or no roads.” (May 2004)
“…in your lifetime most existing roads will have tolls.” (October 2004)
It’s clear provisions in SAFETEA-LU, plus lobbying by Gov. Perry via NASCO has been engineered to force the federal HTF into a deficit — one that will exist for as long as the politicians can get away with it. Therefore, states will no longer receive funding from the federal HTF. (Half of Texas’ DOT budget comes from it.) To make up for that, roads will be tolled.
And there’s more. Texas Gov. Perry and Lt. Gov. Dewhurst, who sit on the Texas Bond Review Board, have been trying to use money from Texas Mobility Fund ONLY to fund TOLL roads. The one who has prevented Perry’s travesty is the third member of the board — Comptroller Strayhorn, who is an independent candidate for governor.
In and around Austin, toll roads have been built, are under construction, or planning to be built. Yet, there are adequate funds to build those roads without levying tolls. (In the San Antonio Business Journal for Oct 27 – Nov 2, there is an article titled “Larson wants lawmakers to keep highway funds on highways.” It states that in 2005, $774 million in the Texas State Highway Fund was diverted for non-highway programs, and $9.3 billion has been diverted over the last 20 years.)
The TTC contract had been secret for 17 months. It was made available weeks before the election. One of the secret items in the contract is for Texas to pay for relocating railroad lines — to the tune of $16 billion. How would that be financed? Toll roads.
So, clearly steps are being taken to force most highways nationwide to be tolled in order to pay for the NAFTA Super-Corridors.