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Follow TURFCintra secures financing for North Tarrant Express project
Note the purpose of "congestion pricing" and "managed" toll lanes, is not to provide actual congestion relief, but rather is a means of "managing" traffic. Let's look at how well the government "managed" the mortgage crisis, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and it ought to make us all think twice before we grant the control of our freedom to travel over to a private entity in a government-sanctioned monopoly! Also of significance is the amount of taxpayer subsidies that went into propping up this sweetheart deal for Cintra...over $1.6 billion of the project cost is being fronted by the taxpayers, compared to less than $500 million by the private entity. Hinkle makes a note of the State not being responsible for the $400 million in private activity bonds in the case of default; however, WE THE PEOPLE are still on the hook for that money on the
FEDERAL level! This is THIEVERY folks!
Team led by Cintra secures financing for North Tarrant Express toll project
12:14 PM Thu, Dec 17, 2009 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Michael Lindenberger/Reporter Bio | E-mail | News tips
A team of private companies led by Spanish toll firm Cinta has secured its financing for the mega toll project known as the North Tarrant Express. The toll project will rebuild existing lanes along Interstate 820 and portions of SH 183, and add new managed lanes as well.(A map of the project is here.)
Construction should begin in late 2010, and it will be the first privately financed toll road in North Texas. A similar project, also led by Cintra, to rebuild LBJ Freeway with a mix of free and paid lanes is expected to begin construction shortly afterward.
The managed lanes on both projects will be costly during rush hours, with rates going up as the traffic on the adjacent free lanes gets heavier. It's an approach to "manage" traffic by continuing to jack up rates when demand is strong, and by doing so keeping traffic moving freely on the paid lanes no matter how slow it becomes on the free lanes.
The financing secured today will pay for completion of Segments 1 and 2, and will cover the segment of I-820 from the Interstate 35 interchange north of Fort Worth to near Northeast Mall by SH 183, said project spokesman Robert Hinkle. It will also add lanes along SH 183 from near the mall toward Irving.
The $2 billion project was approved in January in Austin with heavy encouragement from Tarrant County elected officials.
Tolls from the managed lanes will be used to repay the debts required to build the project and provide profit to Cintra and its partners, which include the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System.
Here's how the team found the money for the project:
Investors put $427 million cash into the project, including about $43 million from the Dallas fire and police pension fund, according to Hinkle.
The U.S. government approved a so-called TIFIA loan in the amount of $650 million -- a federally backed loan that provides generous interest rates and lenient repayment schedules.
$400 million in private activity bonds have been issued by the state on behalf of the project. Hinkle said the bonds are "unwrapped" -- meaning that they do not expose the state of Texas to risk default.
Taxpayers contributed $573 million in tax dollars to help finance the project.