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Follow TURFPlea for long-term fix to structural road deficit in Texas
The public must demand better solutions to traffic
City, state can't afford the cost of doing nothing.
By Jim Reed and Vic Suhm / Special to the Express-News
Updated 07:49 p.m., Wednesday, April 27, 2011
If the Texas transportation system were a medical patient, the diagnosis would be failing health on the verge of critical condition. Our urban and suburban roadways are like clogged arteries, many of our rural roads and bridges are like brittle bones, and our funding sources are like lungs with little oxygen. Without leadership, neglect of our transportation system will put our economy on life support.
Bundle.com recently ranked Dallas/Fort Worth the most costly commute in the nation, and Houston and Austin are in the top 10. Absent new money in a legislative session with a historic budget shortfall, the Texas Department of Transportation could run out of funds for new projects as early as next year. More money already is dedicated to paying off old highway bonds than building new roads. And soon bonded indebtedness and maintenance will leave no state money for new projects.
In San Antonio, this means improvements to key regional corridors such as U.S. 281, Loop 1604 and I-35 will not be made, or will require toll financing.
A temporary stopgap measure is emerging in the Senate that will give life to new roads for a couple more years. Senate leaders are talking about authorizing another $3 billion in road bonds. The Transportation Advocates of Texas supports the proposal because any new money is beneficial to relieve gridlock and improve highway safety. But our organization's goal is to achieve a stable, sustainable revenue stream to fund transportation infrastructure. Borrowing provides short-term relief, but we need a long-term vision.
Read the rest of the story here.