TxDOT to hijack I-35: Plans to toll new & existing lanes

Link to article here.

TxDOT to hijack I-35: Proposes tolls on new & existing lanes
By Terri Hall
November 3, 2013
Examiner.com

When a local San Antonio TV reporter goes on a rant over a toll lane proposal, you know the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has hit a nerve. TxDOT is proposing to add two elevated toll lanes on Interstate 35 each direction from Loop 410 in Bexar County to Schertz in Comal County, approximately 15 miles. The insanity doesn’t stop there.

VA toll opponents dealt blow by State Supreme Court

Link to article here.

Tolls are a tax and no longer a user fee once general taxes subsidize the project and when toll revenues from one project go to pay for another corridor/project that those same users don't use. The citizens ought to challenge this ruling since the tolls are clearly a tax under these circumstances.

Toll opponents' attorney: "They're not quitting"
By Dave Forster
The Virginian-Pilot
November 2, 2013

The state’s highest court delivered what appeared to be a knockout blow Thursday to an effort to stop the Elizabeth River tunnel tolls. That evening, about a dozen determined fighters gathered to discuss how they might go another round.

They talked for about two hours, mulling their options and chances for success. Their attorney, Patrick McSweeney, was there, still incredulous over the Supreme Court justices’ reasoning. He had heard their ruling in person, then driven to Portsmouth to counsel his clients.

Ideas ranged from a legislative fix that would require political pressure, to a federal challenge, to hope that voters on Tuesday would elect Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, whom the toll opponents view as an ally.

Friday morning, McSweeney said he was “working on something” but wasn’t ready to divulge specifics. He was more clear about the resolve of the group.

“They’re not,” he said, “going to quit.”

Before Thursday’s court ruling, the plaintiffs, about three dozen residents and businesses, along with their supporters, had been riding a wave of optimism.

In May, Portsmouth Circuit Judge James A. Cales Jr. had ruled that the tolls, which are scheduled to begin Feb. 1 at the Midtown and Downtown tunnels, amounted to taxes established in violation of the Virginia Constitution, and that the General Assembly had exceeded its authority by granting “unfettered power” to the state highway department to set the rates.

The Supreme Court reversed Cales’ decision, saying that the tolls are user fees, not taxes, and that the General Assembly, through the 1995 Public-Private Transportation Act, had lawfully delegated to the Virginia Department of Transportation the power to impose and set the toll rates.

McSweeney maintains that not even the General Assembly had the authority to set those toll rates, let alone delegate that power. The authority to set toll rates that will generate a profit for a private company running a government-owned facility is the exclusive domain of the State Corporation Commission, he argues.

“The court simply didn’t read our brief,” he said.

A federal challenge would likely involve a claim that the state highway department and its private partner did not sufficiently study the impact the tolls would have on Portsmouth, a city with a predominantly minority population and a disproportionately high number of low-income residents.

Nancy Lamartin, a Portsmouth resident who has been researching the option, said the tolls will create a barrier for the poor and disabled to health care, jobs and higher education in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

“We are being segregated here,” she said.

The tolls are part of the financing for a project that will build a second Midtown Tunnel tube, renovate the Midtown and Downtown tunnels and extend a freeway in Portsmouth. The state’s private partner, Elizabeth River Crossings, will maintain and operate the network of roads until 2070.

The company is authorized to earn an average annual return of 13.5 percent on its investment, which involves a commitment of $272 million in private equity on the $2.1 billion project.

The tolls will be all-electronic, with no booths. They will begin at $1.59 for passenger vehicles during off-hours and $1.84 during peak weekday travel times: from 5:30 to 9 a.m. and from 2:30 to 7 p.m. Trucks will be tolled $4.77 during off-peak times and $7.36 during peak hours.

Users who do not sign up for an E-ZPass transponder will have to pay higher rates. They will be billed via license plate readers.

If motorists eschew ­E-ZPass but choose to register their license plates and set up an account with Elizabeth River Crossings, they will be billed the base toll rate plus $1.59 each time they cross one of the tunnels.

Those who don’t register their license plates or sign up with E-ZPass will be assessed a $3.18 fee in addition to the base toll rate on every trip. That would bring the cost of using the Downtown or Midtown tunnel to $5.02 for those drivers during peak travel times.

Elizabeth River Crossings plans to roll out a marketing campaign for E-ZPass after Tuesday’s election, said Leila Rice, a company spokeswoman.

A customer service center opened Oct. 7 in Portsmouth, at 700 Port Centre Parkway. Three workers sat behind a marble counter Friday, ready to help callers or walk-in customers.

The center, open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., had one customer visit as of 1 p.m. Friday. He wanted to know about adding his motorcycle to his E-ZPass account.

Foot traffic has been building, said Todd Kelley, the program manager for the center.

“I think it was Monday or Tuesday, we had eight,” he said.

Moody's predicts default on Cintra's SH 130 by end of 2014

Link to article here.

TX130/5&6 has very little traffic, revenues low, Moody's thinks may default mid-2014
Toll Road News
October 24, 2013

2013-10-22: October 24 last year the Texas State Highway 130 segments 5 and 6 (TX130/5&6) opened for traffic southeast of Austin to I-10 near Seguin. But there's not much celebration on the pike's first birthday. Traffic seems to be under 6,000 vehicles/day, perhaps one-eighth capacity for its expressway standard 2x2 lanes.

Moody's Investors Service has just downrated SH 130 Concession Company LLC's senior bank debt of $686m and $493m of US Government TIFIA loans to Caa3, the third lowest in 'junk' status.

Many toll violations billed in error

Link to article here.

Many toll violations are being billed in error, like Mr. Brooks below who has a current TollTag that's being paid right out of his bank account, and yet due to the driver of a motorcycle he sold more than a year ago, he's being taken to the cleaners and being personally, very publicly shamed for something he didn't even do. This is what the power of electronic government monitoring of our private lives reaps and it's what the power of taxation in the hands of an unelected body can do to you - not only financially ruin you, but can also can block your car registration.

Man shocked to find name on list of top toll violators
16 drivers owe more than $100,000 state said
By Kevin Schwaller
KXAN.com
October 18, 2013

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The names of the top 25 violators of toll roads operated by the Texas Department of Transportation were released Thursday by the state agency, and 16 of them owe more than $100,000.

And all 25 are from the Austin area.

The top delinquent drivers had 14,358 unpaid transactions that totaled $236,026.32. Number 2 had more than 10,000 unpaid transactions totaling more than $127,600.

Roger Brooks, of Round Rock, is on that list.
 
Brooks tells KXAN News, he hasn't been neglecting his tolls. Brooks showed us his TxTag and says it is set up to auto-withdrawal from his bank account.
 
"So I go online, I take a look. Sure enough my name is on that list," said Brooks. "Apparently it's tied to a motorcycle I sold a year ago."
 
TxDOT lists Brooks as having 4,462 unpaid transactions totaling $111,596.74.
 
"Surprising how it can stack up so quickly," said Brooks. "And I sold the motorcycle about a year ago. So, I don't know how somebody can just go on the toll all day everyday."

TxDOT confirms it would be possible for someone else to rack up those fees if a TxTag wasn't deactivated or the proper license plate changes were not made through the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.
 
"The day started with a phone call from a neighbor who said 'hey, you can't be driving my daughter around because you're going to go to jail for not paying your toll tags,'" said Brooks. "To come up in this surprising situation is kind of hard to swallow because it's a personal situation."
 
Brooks says he called TxDOT and has set up an appointment to meet about his case.
 
KXAN News also went to an address listed online for Amee Geren, who is shown as owing $145,341.08.
 
However, Geren didn't live in the home.
 
"Not sure that this is the best way to go about trying to punish people or getting people to pay their bills," said Allisa Latham, who lived at an address listed for one of the violators. "I haven't heard them do this with anything else before."

“Effectively, these people have been stealing form the state and fellow citizens of Texas," TxDOT spokeswoman Veronica Beyer said. "It’s not fair that people have been driving around not paying their tolls to the thousands of other people who have been doing the right thing and paying their tolls.”

A new state law gives the TxDOT the authority to report the names of toll violators in an effort to collect more than $27 million in unpaid tolls owed across the state.

"The tolls collected will be used to pay debt and fund operations of state-maintained toll roads," the TXDOT website says..

In addition to publishing the list of top violators, TxDOT also has the authority to:
    •    Ban vehicles from using TxDOT toll roads with Texas Transportation Commission approval. If stopped by law enforcement, vehicles in violation of the ban can be ticketed and impounded.
    •    Report the habitual violators to county tax assessor-collectors to potentially block the renewal of the vehicle’s registration.
    •    Motorists with unpaid toll violations should immediately contact the TxTag Customer Service Center at (888) 468-9824 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. weekdays. A negotiated settlement amount may be offered as well as a payment plan, if needed.
    •    
TxDOT operates several toll roads in the Austin area, Laredo and one in Houston. Regional authorities operate the other toll roads.

Beyer said the agency is willing to negotiate payments and and establish payment plans for drivers who owe. The main focus is just getting the offenders to step forward, she said.

The department has been receiving calls all day since the list went up, but Beyer said she didn’t know if it was anyone owning up to the fines. The main goal is to get people calling in; they’ll negotiate with people from there.

TV Reporter goes on rant, asks if Texans will vote out politicians who raid road funds

Link to video here.

Let's make sure this reporter gets the message loud & clear. We don't want toll roads and we will hold any politicians who votes for them accountable at the ballot box! Toss 'em all out!

New toll possibility on I-35 brings up question
By Randy Beamer
WOAI-TV
October 30, 2013

SAN ANTONIO -- Would you vote for or against a candidate based on their support (or lack of support) for better roads? Would diverting tax money that's supposed to be spent on transportation make you think twice about sending them back to Austin?

The questions come up because the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) this week is unveiling the possibility of elevated toll lanes above a 15-mile stretch of I-35 in northeast San Antonio. San Antonians have been pretty vocal in their rejection of prior toll projects as this metro area is the biggest in the state without any toll roads or even toll lanes.

Pauken speaks out against public money in private tollway

Link to article here.

Tom Pauken is only candidate untainted by the special interests pushing tolling in Texas...

Texas Gubernatorial Candidate Calls for End to Toll Road Subsidies
Focus Daily News
October 30, 2013

Moody’s Investors Service last week downgraded the credit rating for the SH 130 Concession company that operates the SH 130 toll road between Seguin and Mustang Ridge. The new junk status rating is a reflection of underperformance, by 55%, of forecasts for toll road usage.

In response, GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Pauken issued the following statement:

“The failure of SH 130 to meet forecasts and its possible bankruptcy should send a message about the dangers of subsidizing these types of road project deals.

“The policy goal should be seeking road project deals which pay for themselves. We should make sure that we do not put Texas taxpayers at jeopardy for any losses which such efforts might incur.”

“Texas needs to live within its means and work to decrease the amount of debt it owes on transportation-related projects. Subsidizing toll roads that may need a bail-out works against that goal.”

Houghton lies about public money for SH 130 private tollway

Link to article here.

Transportation Commission Chairman Ted Houghton flat out lied at the Transportation Symposium held by the Texas Tribune. Indeed, public money is involved in SH 130's public private partnership. The U.S. taxpayer is on the hook for a $430 million federal TIFIA loan. It's also offensive that Houghton uses Grand Pkwy as a model for tolling when taxpayers will also be on the hook for $2.9 billion of the project. If taxpayers have to, in essence, co-sign the loan and guarantee the debt of a toll project, it, too, has questionable financial viability as a toll road. Private investors aren't willing to risk their own money on that project so TxDOT came in and put that risk on taxpayers, further en-denting the state and tying up funds needed for freeways.

Debt Issues Tied to SH 130 Could Impact Toll Projects
By Aman Batheja
Texas Tribune
October 23, 2013

A year ago this week, a toll road opened in Central Texas that represented two milestones for the state. While its posted 85 mph speed limit — the highest in the country — drew international headlines, many state and local leaders were more interested in the road’s unique financing: A private consortium designed and built the road and agreed to operate and maintain it for 50 years in exchange for a cut of the toll revenue.

Toll glitch traps motorists at DFW airport

See the story and watch the video here.

Technology has its own powers....once we're dependent on it, it becomes our master. So is the case with toll plazas and electronic tolling, too.

Toll plaza glitch stymies motorists at DFW Airport
by MONIKA DIAZ
WFAA.com
October 21, 2013

DFW AIRPORT — Motorists who had trouble leaving Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Monday were forced to wait in line while workers lifted exit gates by hand at its toll plaza on the north side.

According to DFW Airport spokeswoman Cynthia Vega, the system was failing to identify every Toll Tag. In some instances, the system read the tag as a vehicle entered the airport, but problems popped up upon departure.

Review of TxDOT's bloated salaries finally coming

Link to article here.

TxDOT's excessive salaries will be studied...and we've been advocating zero-based budgeting for the agency since its sunset review started in 2007-2008.

Lawmakers add a little stick to their TxDOT largesse
By Robert T. Garrett
Dallas Morning News
July 29, 2013

Lawmakers may be about to serve up a cool billion more in funding for roads, but they also could add a little stick: A study of whether “employee salaries and benefits” are bloated at the Texas Department of Transportation.

When Gov. Rick Perry named former Texas Secretary of State Phil Wilson to run TxDOT nearly two years ago, Wilson’s salary struck some people as excessive — $292,500 a year, or $100,000 more than former executive director Amadeo Saenz, a former road engineer who retired. At the time, the Perry-appointed commission that oversees TxDOT wanted key legislators who oversee the state budget to approve additional salary of $88,500 for Wilson, once a salary study could be completed.

Prop 6 opponents stir up controversy over special interest backing

Watch the video here.

Proposition 6 controversy grows as early polling nears
by Karen Grace / KENS 5
October 14, 2013

The growing controversy over the use of Proposition 6 to bring in water has people speaking out.
Governor Rick Perry says it will bring in more water.  Opponents are calling in voters to reject Proposition 6 at the polls, calling the water policy corrupt.

"Scheming a $2 billion heist of rainy day fund, it's a heist. So outrageous it requires an amendment to the Constitution to pull off," Said Sam Brannon of Hays Constitutional Republicans.

TxDOT tries public shame to get toll violators to pay-up, but some are charged erroneously

With help like this from the media, it's no wonder. But what will happen when the next 25 top violators list comes out? Will the media be lap dogs and publicize it or will the story lose its luster and TxDOT will jump to blocking to car registrations? Read the Texas Tribune article that follows to see how many of these 'violations' are inaccurately billed to people who are accused of being toll violators for cars they don't even own!

Watch the video here.

Man shocked to find name on list of top toll violators
16 drivers owe more than $100,000 state said
By Kevin Schwaller
KXAN.com
Friday, October 18, 2013

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The names of the top 25 violators of toll roads operated by the Texas Department of Transportation were released Thursday by the state agency, and 16 of them owe more than $100,000.

And all 25 are from the Austin area.

The top delinquent drivers had 14,358 unpaid transactions that totaled $236,026.32. Number 2 had more than 10,000 unpaid transactions totaling more than $127,600.

Roger Brooks, of Round Rock, is on that list.
 
Brooks tells KXAN News, he hasn't been neglecting his tolls. Brooks showed us his TxTag and says it is set up to auto-withdrawal from his bank account.
 
"So I go online, I take a look. Sure enough my name is on that list," said Brooks. "Apparently it's tied to a motorcycle I sold a year ago."
 
TxDOT lists Brooks as having  4,462 unpaid transactions totaling $111,596.74.
 
"Surprising how it can stack up so quickly," said Brooks. "And I sold the motorcycle about a year ago. So, I don't know how somebody can just go on the toll all day everyday."
TxDOT confirms it would be possible for someone else to rack up those fees if a TxTag wasn't deactivated or the proper license plate changes were not made through the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.
 
"The day started with a phone call from a neighbor who said 'hey, you can't be driving my daughter around because you're going to go to jail for not paying your toll tags,'" said Brooks. "To come up in this surprising situation is kind of hard to swallow because it's a personal situation."
 
Brooks says he called TxDOT and has set up an appointment to meet about his case.
 
KXAN News also went to an address listed online for Amee Geren, who is shown as owing  $145,341.08.
 
However, Geren didn't live in the home.
 
"Not sure that this is the best way to go about trying to punish people or getting people to pay their bills," said Allisa Latham, who lived at an address listed for one of the violators. "I haven't heard them do this with anything else before."

“Effectively, these people have been stealing form the state and fellow citizens of Texas," TxDOT spokeswoman Veronica Beyer said. "It’s not fair that people have been driving around not paying their tolls to the thousands of other people who have been doing the right thing and paying their tolls.”

A new state law gives the TxDOT the authority to report the names of toll violators in an effort to collect more than $27 million in unpaid tolls owed across the state.

"The tolls collected will be used to pay debt and fund operations of state-maintained toll roads," the TXDOT website says.

In addition to publishing the list of top violators, TxDOT also has the authority to:
    •    Ban vehicles from using TxDOT toll roads with Texas Transportation Commission approval. If stopped by law enforcement, vehicles in violation of the ban can be ticketed and impounded.
    •    Report the habitual violators to county tax assessor-collectors to potentially block the renewal of the vehicle’s registration.
    •    Motorists with unpaid toll violations should immediately contact the TxTag Customer Service Center at (888) 468-9824 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. weekdays. A negotiated settlement amount may be offered as well as a payment plan, if needed.

TxDOT operates several toll roads in the Austin area, Laredo and one in Houston. Regional authorities operate the other toll roads.

Beyer said the agency is willing to negotiate payments and and establish payment plans for drivers who owe. The main focus is just getting the offenders to step forward, she said.

The department has been receiving calls all day since the list went up, but Beyer said she didn’t know if it was anyone owning up to the fines. The main goal is to get people calling in; they’ll negotiate with people from there.

__________________________________

Link to article here.

Even some not on Top 25 list say they want to pay
By John Moritz
Friday, October 18, 2013
KXAN.com

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Publicity, it seem, takes a toll.

Literally. Since the Texas Department of Public Safety on Thursday released the names of the top 25 delinquent payers on the toll roads it operates, at least six of those came forward to work out repayment plans before lunchtime on Friday.

And numerous others not on the Top 25 list but still in arrears with the state have contacted the agency saying they, too, are ready to make good.

Moody's downgrades Cintra's SH 130 tollway to junk bonds status

Link to article here. 

A default or taxpayer bailout is looming...

Moody's downgrades SH130 toll road rating, fears default
By Robert Grattan
Austin Business Journal
October 17, 2013

Moody’s Investors Service Inc. has again downgraded the credit rating of SH 130 Concession Company LLC, based on what it said was inadequate traffic growth on the company’s 41-mile, tolled section of SH 130, the high-speed highway that runs around Austin parallel to I-35.

The road has been called an asset to economic development in towns along the route, such as Pflugerville, but has been hampered by what Moody's called "slow to moderate, yet inadequate" traffic growth. The credit rating agency expects that without a debt restructuring or additional investment, the Concession Company will be unable to meet its debt service payments due in June 2014, according to the rating report.

Dulles toll road faces lawsuit

Link to article here.

Dulles Toll Road Faces Lawsuit
By Audrey Dutton
September 2, 2009
Bond Buyer

WASHINGTON - An advocacy group in Virginia is suing federal and state transportation officials over the Dulles Toll Road, arguing that drivers are being illegally charged tolls used to back bonds issued for a Dulles Metrorail project.

The 130-page lawsuit was filed last month in the U.S. District Courts for the District of Columbia and Eastern District of Virginia by the Dulles Corridor Users Group against James Bennett, president and chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, as well as federal transportation officials and the Virginia Transportation Secretary. It asks for a refund of $200 million of tolls already collected and for the road to be made a free highway.

The complaint was filed three days after the MWAA sold more than $900 million of bonds to fund construction of the new Metrorail line that will transport riders to the Dulles International Airport.

"We don't see at the moment the authority behind the taxing power for the toll road that is the basis for payment on the bonds," said Christopher W. Walker, who founded the civic group. "They've cut corners; they don't have an elected group of people."

The complaint comes in anticipation of a 25-cent toll increase on the road, and as lawmakers in Congress are pushing to ban tolls on federally funded highways, arguing that those tolls amount to double taxation because taxpayers already paid for them.

The Virginia civic group charges that tolling drivers on the Dulles Toll Road is illegal based on state law.

According to the complaint, state law requires that when payments have been made, or set aside, for bonds issued for a project, tolls can no longer be charged - except to pay for maintenance, repairs, operations, improvements, and reconstruction on the projects, or if they are pledged to the transportation trust fund.

In addition, the toll revenues could only be diverted to another project aside from the toll road if approved by the state General Assembly, and that body has taken no action, the lawsuit says.

"This pork-fest has gone on too long by parties who have ignored the law in favor of interested parties who want to receive fees," it says.

The group claims that the Dulles corridor is "in danger of being taxed to death," in part "to subsidize the money-losing rail venture" that will add a new Dulles Metrorail line to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority transit rail network.

In addition, the group alleges that 75% of the money for the first phase of the Dulles Metrorail project will unfairly benefit private landowners in Tysons Corner, a suburban area in Fairfax County, Va., that contains a major shopping mall and upscale shopping centers.

The Dulles Toll Road, part of a Virginia state highway, was built in 1984 and was operated until 2006 by the Virginia Department of Transportation. The 16-mile stretch of highway is now operated and financed by the MWAA, and part of its revenues are dedicated to financing the planned Metrorail line.

The MWAA and Virginia DOT have diverted $133 million of surplus toll road funds to pay for rail operations already, the group said. The complaint says that a 2008 Virginia Supreme Court ruling set a precedent that taxes cannot be levied by non-elected officials, and decided that the appropriate remedy is to repay taxpayers.

The lawsuit - which points to a YouTube.com rap music video about Arlington, Va., as a parody of smart growth in the corridor area - also claims that the Metrorail line is a poor investment driven by political interests.

The MWAA declined to say when it would file any court action in relation to the lawsuit. The deadline is Oct. 15, according to Walker.

"We are in the process of reviewing the complaint, and the airports authority will respond appropriately in court," said MWAA spokesman Rob Yingling.

The legal battle against the Dulles Toll Road comes as lawmakers are mulling whether to ban states, private parties, and others from adding tolls on existing untolled federal highways, bridges, or tunnels that have been constructed with federal funding.

A bill introduced by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Tex., in May would prohibit such tolls nationally. Hutchison already successfully banned the tolling of existing federally funded highways in Texas by adding a provision to a fiscal 2008 appropriations bill that was enacted. That prohibition expires at the end of this month.

Arlington officials push toll road on 360

Link to article here.

This is how TxDOT forces toll taxes on Texans - tie-up our gas taxes/freeway funds in toll projects and drag their feet on fixing our roadways in a timely manner, and eventually people will beg for a toll road (…until they start paying those monthly bills and eventually get priced off their public roads).

Arlington Officials Push For Highway 360 Toll Road
October 15, 2013
CBSDFW.com

ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) — Do you think North Texas needs another toll road? It seems officials in Arlington do. The city is pressing the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) to help alleviate a trouble spot in the city.

There are plans to make Highway 360 a toll road, south of Interstate-20 running down to Highway 287 past Mansfield.

“I don’t know how it will work, going down a free road and all the sudden there’s a toll booth or toll electronic booth,” admitted Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck. “Anyway it will work I don’t care. Just get it built! It’s important to us.”

City leaders say the road is important because right now Highway 360 dead-ends into access roads. The sudden change causes huge back ups all the way to I-20.

“Mornings, busy hours, you could wait 40 minutes from I-20,” SH 360 driver Blair Counts said frustrated. “So, anything that’ll speed that up would be a great benefit.”

The plans are for TxDOT to extend 360 south to 287, and then the NTTA would take over and run the stretch of highway as a toll road.

Arlington’s mayor says the city has been asking for an extension of 360 for at least seven years, but has been frustrated by TxDOT and NTTA delays. Mayor Cluck says their hopes for improving SH 360 have shrunk along with state budgets and growing delays in construction.

Initially the city and state talked about improving 360 all the way north to DFW Airport. But now, Arlington has all but abandoned any hope of the state improving traffic flow there.

Mayor Cluck said, “I don’t see that happening any time soon. Seems like a lot of those plans now are on serious hold.”

Now the Arlington City Council will vote on a resolution saying it’s in favor of going forward with the 360 expansion to the south.

The vote is one of the few ways the city has to show the state it wants something done on the highway — sooner rather than later. “We’ll keep trying until something happens,” Cluck said. “I know there is a money shortage. NTTA and TxDOT both have a whole lot more projects they need to do that they can’t for a lack of funds. But let’s get something going here.”

If construction on the 360 tollway was to get underway quickly it was planned for completion in early 2015.

Now that there’s talk of more budget worries and disagreements between the NTTA and TxDOT, some are predicting delays in the project of months or even years.

TxDOT outsources toll collection to Xerox in $100 million contract

Link to article here.

A $100 million in toll road collection bureaucracy is nothing to celebrate. This is more like an indictment on the failure of electronic tolling policies - they can't get people to pay-up without putting them into collections. The contract with Xerox involves maintaining toll booths - what toll booths? TxDOT has been moving to an all electronic toll collection method for years now. Also, what provisions, if any, are there in this contract to protect toll users' private information and keep Xerox from selling or otherwise misusing motorists private data to some other private entity?

Xerox signs $100M deal to manage TxDot toll roads
The Associated Press
September 23, 2013

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas has signed a 5-year, approximately $100 million contract with Xerox to manage toll-road operations statewide.

Xerox announced Monday that it will open a customer service operations center in Austin to process more than 8 million monthly toll transactions while managing 750,000-plus accounts.

The center will handle tasks including license plate image review and bill collection.

Xerox will also be in charge of physical maintenance of toll plaza buildings and overseeing courtesy patrol fleets that TxDot maintains on toll roads in Austin, providing roadside assistance.

Xerox says it is the largest provider of transportation technology services worldwide. It provides parking, toll, mass transit and photo enforcement services to government in 30 countries.

Road funding proposal to go before voters in 2014

Link to article here.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has lost his mind if he thinks his committee will come up with a 'conservative' approach to transportation funding. This same Senator, Tommy Williams, insisted they raid emergency funds to pay for a core function of government - roads - when the legislature had an $8 billion surplus going into the session!

State road funding method goes to voters in 2014
By Howard Roden
The Villager - Your Houston News
Wednesday, September 25, 2013

It wasn’t state lawmakers’ first method at infusing more money into the Texas transportation system, but by the end of a third special session, they had settled on the “politically acceptable” choice, state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, said.

In August, both sides of the 83rd Legislature passed House Joint Resolution 1, a constitutional amendment that diverts a portion of the state’s oil and natural gas severance tax to roads and transportation infrastructure.

West VA Senator upset with new toll increase

Watch the interview here.

Senator reacts to possible toll increase
By Tim Carrico, Weekend Anchor
September 22, 2013
The State Journal

CHARLESTON, WV - The price of tolls could go up, again. Earlier this month, the Governor's Highway Safety Commission proposed a new plan to lock toll booths on West Virginia's Interstates for the next 30 years.

State Journal Decision Maker host Bray Cary sat down with Southern West Virginia 6th District Senator Bill Cole, who represents Mercer, Mingo, McDowell and Wayne counties.

Senator Cole says it is unfair to bring more taxes on the people of southern West Virginia, when they're financially unstable.

"If you're not one of the in-state people traveling the interstate, that's great news," said Senator Cole. "But if you're one of the 25-percent, the most impoverished part of our state, is going to get a $250-million tax imposed on them."

Under proposed plans, motorists in southern West Virginia would have to pay $4.38 at each toll.

West Virginia needs to generate more than one-billion dollars to fulfill its plans to expand the state's infrastructure and maintain current roads.

Toll and fee increases would account for about $100-million of that billion.

Cintra secures financing for extension of North Tarrant Express

Link to article here.

Ferrovial-led consortium to extend the North Tarrant Express in Texas
Construction & Maintenance News
September 2013

Ferrovial, through a consortium led by subsidiary Cintra Infraestructuras, has achieved financial close for the concession to extend the North Tarrant Express in Texas (US). Investment is estimated at 1.35 billion dollars (around 1.01 billion euro). NTE Mobility Partners Segments 3 LLC, the consortium led by Cintra, also includes Meridiam Infrastructure, Dallas Police and Fire Pension System and APG.

The project will be financed with a combination of public and private funds: 531 million dollars from a federal TIFIA loan (Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act); 127 million dollars from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT); 274 million dollars in Private Activity Bonds (PABs), maturing in 25 and 30 years (which were 2.5 and 4 times oversubscribed respectively); and 430 million dollars in equity.

This operation again highlights Cintra's capacity to issue debt in the capital markets. Enrique Díaz-Rato, CEO of Cintra: "We are very pleased to have successfully attained financial close for this project. We have achieved an efficient capital structure despite the complex economic situation at present. We are looking forward to commencing a project that will bring growth and employment to the region, as well as great benefits to citizens".

The operation also evidences investor appetite for managed lanes projects. Managed lanes are currently the most advanced, safest and most reliable form of tolling. This totally electronic barrier-free system does not require vehicles to stop, and tolls are set dynamically on the basis of demand.

The construction of segment 3A, measuring 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometres), is part of the project to rebuild and expand one of the most important corridors in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the United States and one of the fastest-growing conurbations in the country.

The Cintra-led consortium will upgrade the existing lanes, which will be toll-free, and build two additional managed lanes each way which will use electronic tolling; the consortium will also handle operation and maintenance of the entire roadway, which includes a second section, 3B, measuring 3.6 miles (5.8 kilometres) built by TxDOT. The 43-year concession will start from the date the highway opens to traffic, which is scheduled for mid-2018.

Govt agencies to track motorists funnel data to insurance companies

Link to article here.

Federal Agencies Trade Motorist Data to Insurance Companies
Department of Homeland Security agrees to track motorists using a database built by the insurance industry.
The Newspaper.com
August 24, 2013

Federal agencies are giving away data on the movements of innocent motorists in return for software and equipment provided by the insurance industry. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) on Tuesday released documents revealing in greater detail how federal agencies are using the data collected by automated license plate recognition systems (ALPR or ANPR in Europe). These devices are use cameras and computer algorithms to create an history of where people drive, and when. As first reported in Forbes, the new EPIC documents show the data generated by the cameras are being handed over to private insurance firms.

EPIC and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have been hitting government agencies with freedom of information requests regarding the use of license plate readers. Until now, the public has been kept in the dark about how their driving history is being used, or lead to believe the cameras would only be used to find specific, targeted vehicles on a "hot list" of stolen cars. Instead, the systems are building a history of the movements of people who have done nothing wrong.

"Our worst fears about license plate recognition technology appear to be unfolding," wrote Kade Crockford, Director of the Technology for Liberty Project of the ACLU of Massachusetts. "The government is creating large pools of our location information and sharing it widely among law enforcement agencies nationwide, absent any mention of connections to investigations or criminal activity."

The documents show the Drug Enforcement Agency and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) signed a memorandum of understanding authorizing the sharing of license plate reader data. This means tracking information on motorists who drive through border checkpoints -- many of which are located on travel routes far from the actual border -- are shared with DEA agents. The information will be further spread to "intelligence, operations and fusion centers" as well as state and local law enforcement, as desired. The data is stored for two years, unless transferred to another system with a longer data retention policy.

In November 2005, Customs and Border Protection also entered into an agreement with the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), which is an organization of nearly every insurance firm in the country. The stated purpose is to prevent the export of stolen motor vehicles. The border agency agreed to "make available to NICB electronic LPR information on vehicles leaving or entering the United States." In return, NICB agreed to create a database containing all of the license plate information.

"NICB agrees to procure the equipment, software and programming resources necessary to develop the capability to utilize, refine and organize the information provided by CBP," the memorandum stated.

With CBP approval, the data entry, database and other operational work could be outsourced to third-party firms.

Truckers take issue with Reason Foundation for wanting to toll interstates

Link to article here.

Reason Foundation profits off of pushing tolls on the American public and we're glad to see OOIDA challenging their biased reports that suggest tolling all interstates.

OOIDA takes issue with 'toll the interstates' study
By David Tanner,
Land Line Magazine
9/17/2013

OOIDA takes serious issue with a Reason Foundation study that suggests all interstate highways should become toll roads in the future. The average toll for a truck, as suggested by the D.C.-based think tank, would be 14 cents a mile.



“Once again, we’ve got the ivory tower academics who do not understand how truckers and motorists use and already pay for our highway system coming up with a scheme for tolling in which everything works like clockwork,” OOIDA Director of Government Affairs Ryan Bowley said.



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