TxDOT's unconstitutional loan guarantee raises ire

Link to article here.

Unconstitutional loan guarantee by highway department raises ire
By Terri Hall
July 21, 2013
Examiner.com

With state and federal highway dollars pinched and toll road traffic taking a hit from a sustained economic downturn and high gas prices, states are looking for ways to get projects built with limited resources. Bond documents for the $2.6 billion Grand Parkway (State Highway 99) tollway reveal the bonds issued by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will be backed by the state highway fund for all but $200 million of the debt if toll revenues are insufficient. Counting interest, that's an obligation of up to $9.6 billion for Texas taxpayers, without approval or oversight from either voters or the Texas legislature.

Florida expands public private partnership law

Link to article here.

How is putting our tax rate in the hands of private corporations, known for charging oppressively high toll rates to use PUBLIC roads, living the American dream, Governor? What a laugh! Just like Texas Governor Rick Perry, they mistake being pro-business with being pro-special interests and crony capitalists where the government picks the winners and losers - not the free market.

Gov. Scott Ceremonially Signs HB 85 to Further Florida’s Public-Private Partnerships
July 19 News Release

Today, Governor Rick Scott ceremoniously signed House Bill 85, relating to public-private partnerships, alongside bill sponsors Senator Miguel Diaz de la Portilla and Representative Greg Steube; Miami Dade College President Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón; City of Miami Commission Chairman Marc Sarnoff; Latin Builders Association President Bernie Navarro; and Chairman of the Board of Associated Builders and Contractors of Florida Carlos Adavin,along with other community advocates.

Governor Scott said, “Since I took office, our mission has been to create a job for every Floridian that wants one. As of yesterday, we have created more than 333,000 private-sector jobs. The signing of this legislation further ensures that Florida is a pro-business state, and that we will not stop until every Florida family has the opportunity to live their version of the American dream.”

Cintra profits on 407 jump 85% due to higher tolls

Link to article here.

Note that the reason the toll profits jumped wasn't because more people wanted to take the toll road, it's because Cintra's soaking the existing users with higher tolls to line their own pockets. The public good and taxation accountable to the people gets thrown under the bus with privatized toll roads.

Highway 407 profit up 85% in 2nd quarter
The Canadian Press
Jul 17, 2013

Toll highway operator 407 International Inc. said Wednesday it earned $75.7 million for the second quarter of this year, up from $40.9 million for the same period of 2012.

Revenues for the quarter totalled $205.2 million, up from $188.4 million.

The company, which operates Ontario's Highway 407, said there were 29.6 million trips on the highway, roughly the same as a year ago.

Average revenue per trip increased to $6.92, up from $6.37 in the second quarter of 2012.

The company is owned by a subsidiary of Ferrovial SA, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and SNC-Lavalin

Tolls on I-4 in Orlando to be pricey

Link to article here.

Note the 'you can eat cake' elitist attitude of highway officials -- if you can't afford to pay for the pricey toll lanes, you can just stay sitting in congestion. The plan is to jack-up the price if the speed in the toll lanes drops 'too low.' It's called congestion pricing. What a scam!

Tolls along Interstate 4 to be pricey
By Mike Synan
July 10, 2013, Update July 17, 2013
Fox News, Orlando
Myfoxorlando.com

ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35 ORLANDO) -
When the construction of four new toll lanes along the center of Interstate 4 is complete, the Florida Department of Transportation says the variable tolls could be substantially more than what drivers are used to paying for other toll roads.

FDOT Project Manager Loreen Bobo says there will be five toll booths on the lanes that will run from State Road 434 in Longwood to Kirkman Road near the attractions.



"On a Sunday morning when there isn't as much traffic on I-4, there's probably not as many people that need to use the tolls, the managed lanes, the toll rate is going to be very low."



KY: Tolls a four letter word

Link to article here.

Tolls a four-letter word at NKY Chamber meeting
By Scott Wartman
Cincinnati.com
July 12, 2013

FORT MITCHELL — Tolls became taboo at a meeting Friday morning at the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. More than 50 business and political leaders discussed the possibility of private financing for the $2.5 billion Brent Spence Bridge replacement and other public projects.

The chamber attempted to distance the idea of tolling from private financing by bringing in experts to explain the variety of private financing of public projects elsewhere in Kentucky.

The fear that private financing will lead to tolling on the Brent Spence Bridge, however, kept many skeptical of allowing private money into the bridge construction.

Fraud lawsuit against toll giant, Macquarie

Link to article here.

New York: Fraud Lawsuit Proceeds Against Toll Road Firm
Financial insurance firm Syncora sues Macquarie over allegedly fraudulent toll road traffic forecasts.
July 16, 2013
TheNewspaper.com

A New York state court decided last Wednesday that a financial guaranty insurance company could sue a toll road company for fraud over a scheme to buy public infrastructure assets at hefty premiums. Syncora Guarantee Inc accused Macquarie, an Australian tolling giant, of misrepresenting a $500 million bond deal to refinance five US toll roads and bridges organized as American Roads LLC.

The financing deal was set up like a subprime mortgage, with payments on interest rate swaps starting low but growing over time, which backloaded the debt Macquarie used to buy the toll roads. Macquarie was counting on Syncora's insurance to achieve a Aaa bond rating, so the tolling firm promised Syncora that the toll roads would provide a reliable stream of revenue.

Reason Foundation's Annual Highway Condition Report

Link to article here.

20th Annual Highway Report on the Performance of State Highway Systems
State-by-state highway performance and cost-effectiveness rankings
David T. Hartgen, M. Gregory Fields, Elizabeth San José and Adrian Moore
July 2, 2013

Reason Foundation’s 20th Annual Report on the Performance of State Highway Systems tracks the performance of state-owned highway systems of the United States from 1984 to 2009. Eleven indicators make up each state’s overall rating, including highway expenditures, interstate and primary road pavement condition, bridge condition, urban interstate congestion, fatality rates and narrow rural lanes. The study is based on spending and performance data submitted by the state highway agencies to the federal government.

The system’s overall condition improved dramatically from 2008 to 2009. Six of the seven key indicators of system condition showed improvement, including large gains in rural interstate and urban interstate condition, and a reduction in the fatality rate. Only rural arterial condition worsened slightly, but poor mileage is still only a fraction of 1 percent. These improvements were achieved despite a slight reduction in per-mile expenditures. All seven indicators of performance improved between 2005 and 2009.

Overall, expenditures for state-owned roads have increased about 18.8 percent since 2005, but in the 2008-09 recession expenditures actually decreased slightly between 2008 and 2009, dropping about 0.6 percent. States were also more cost-efficient with their money in 2009: administrative costs dropped about 14 percent (possibly through the states disbursing funds received earlier). In addition, money was shifted to capital and bridge expenditures (up 3.5 percent) and maintenance expenditures (up 11.0 percent).

The U.S. economic downturn, which began in 2007 and continued in earnest in 2008 and 2009, is an important background factor influencing these trends. In 2008 total U.S. annual vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) fell about 3.5 percent from 2007 levels, lowering congestion slightly from prior years. Also, beginning in late 2008 and continuing into 2009 and 2010, federal stimulus funding contributed an additional 22 percent to funding resources.

North Dakota continued to lead the cost-effectiveness ratings, followed by Kansas, Wyoming, New Mexico and Montana. But some large states—notably Missouri, Texas and Georgia—were also top-12 performers. At the bottom were Alaska, Rhode Island, Hawaii, California and New Jersey.

Most states continued to improve their systems, but increasingly, system performance problems seem to be concentrated in a few states:
    •    Almost two-thirds of the poor-condition rural interstate mileage is in just five states: California, Alaska, Minnesota, New York and Colorado.
    •    Over half (52.7 percent) of the poor-condition urban interstate mileage is in just five states: California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Texas.
    •    Two states (Alaska and Rhode Island) reported more than 10 percent of their rural primary mileage to be in poor condition.
    •    Four states (California, Minnesota, Maryland and Connecticut) reported more than two-thirds of their urban interstates congested.
    •    Although bridge conditions are steadily improving, 20 states report more than one-quarter of their bridges are deficient, with one state (Rhode Island) reporting more than 50 percent of its bridges deficient. For 2010, 20 states again report more than one-quarter of their bridges are deficient, but none with more than 50 percent.
    •    Most states are improving their fatality rates. One state (Montana) reports a fatality rate greater than 2.0 per 100 million vehicle-miles and nine other states report a rate greater than 1.5 fatalities per 100 million vehicle-miles. For 2010, nine states report a fatality rate greater than 1.5 with no states reporting a rate above 2.0.
    •    Five states (Pennsylvania, Arkansas, West Virginia, Washington and Virginia) report more than one-quarter of their rural primary mileage with narrow lanes.

A widening gap seems to be emerging between most states that are making progress and a few states that are finding it difficult to improve. There is also increasing evidence that higher-level road systems (Interstates, other freeways and principal arterials) are in better shape than lower-level road systems, particularly local roads.

Reason Foundation's 20th Annual Highway Report's overall performance and cost-effectiveness rankings are:
    1.    North Dakota
    2.    Kansas
    3.    Wyoming
    4.    New Mexico
    5.    Montana
    6.    Nebraska
    7.    South Carolina
    8.    Missouri
    9.    South Dakota
    10.    Mississippi
    11.    Texas
    12.    Georgia
    13.    Oregon
    14.    Kentucky
    15.    Virginia
    16.    Nevada
    17.    Idaho
    18.    New Hampshire
    19.    North Carolina
    20.    Delaware
    21.    Tennessee
    22.    Indiana
    23.    Arizona
    24.    Washington
    25.    Ohio
    26.    Utah
    27.    Alabama
    28.    Vermont
    29.    Maine
    30.    Michigan
    31.    Wisconsin
    32.    West Virginia
    33.    Iowa
    34.    Illinois
    35.    Louisiana
    36.    Arkansas
    37.    Florida
    38.    Oklahoma
    39.    Pennsylvania
    40.    Maryland
    41.    Colorado
    42.    Minnesota
    43.    Massachusetts
    44.    Connecticut
    45.    New York
    46.    New Jersey
    47.    California
    48.    Hawaii
    49.    Rhode Island
    50.    Alaska

- See more at: http://reason.org/news/show/20th-annual-highway-report#sthash.LEdca5Ll.dpuf

Pulling a fast one: TxDOT does end run around lawmakers with 'rule change'

Link to article here.

Dirty trick? TxDOT bypasses legislature to enact law through rule change
By Terri Hall
July 9, 2013
Examiner.com

How do you know when a public agency is out of control? It tries to bypass the legitimate branch of government charged with enacting law, in this case the Texas legislature, to make laws unto themselves using schemes like making an administrative ‘rule change’ instead. At a recent meeting of the Texas Transportation Commission (the body that governs the Texas Department of Transportation or TxDOT), it proposed a rule change that would, in effect, give the agency a blank check to enter into unlimited numbers of controversial public private partnerships (known as P3s, called Comprehensive Development Agreements or CDAs in Texas).

Indeed, they’d do it using the so-called ‘availability payment’ model, which they initially tried but failed to get passed as legislation, House Bill 3650, during the 83rd regular session of the legislature that ended Memorial Day. So it appears TxDOT is attempting to do through a rule change what they couldn't get done legitimately through the legislative process.

NAFTA superhighways underway in Texas

Link to article here.

NAFTA Superhighway underway in South Texas
By Terri Hall
July 8, 2013
Examiner.com

While there’s been much political angling and wrangling over whether or not the famed legacy project of Texas Governor Rick Perry, the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC), is dead or alive, the evidence points to it being alive and well and underway throughout Texas. The Trans Texas Corridor is the Texas portion of the NAFTA superhighways, often called high priority corridors, approved by Congress since the nineties. Two such corridors in Texas, I-69 and Ports to Plains, are advancing.

At its May meeting, the Texas Transportation Commission approved $11.2 million in funds to expand US 87 in Dawson County from the city of Lamesa south to the border of Martin County. Just a few months prior to this allocation, the Commission approved another $17 million widening project on Texas 349 between Lamesa and Midland. These projects are part of the Ports to Plains TTC corridor headed south into Texas from Colorado, mostly as incremental upgrades to existing highways.

CA Treasurer: Toll roads floundering, numbers don't add up

Link to article here.

This is why it's PARAMOUNT that ELECTED officials are making these multi-billion dollar tax decisions. Toll road and transportation bureaucrats will choose tolling every time and make horrible decisions in-debting generations of taxpayers to keep their bad decisions at bay. Bottom line is most of these projects make NO fiscal sense and aren't EVER going to be financially viable. So they shouldn't be built as toll roads. There simply aren't enough drivers with that kind of discretionary income, period. Now CA taxpayers will have to pay more for an extra 13 years!

California Treasurer Reports On Floundering Toll Road Finances
Failing California toll road needs to restructure by collecting money from motorists for thirteen extra years.
July 8, 2013
TheNewspaper.com

Toll roads remain in vogue among the transportation bureaucracy, but existing projects around the country continue to struggle financially. California's Foothill-Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency, which runs the 241, 261 and 133 toll roads in Orange County, are so depressed that a report released Wednesday by the office of California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer suggests would deliver a blow to the state economy.

"A default on the agency's bonds could have a negative effect on the outlook of investors on the creditworthiness of California in general, potentially making it more difficult and costly for other California issuers to raise funds in the capital markets," the report explained.

Local taxpayers pick-up the slack for lawmakers' refusal to fund roads

Link to article here.

It appears this is the plan by federal and state lawmakers -- by their lack of fiscal discipline to properly fund roads, they're forcing local tax hikes to pick-up the slack. State law now allows local property and sales tax to fund toll roads. No matter who's shirking their duty to fund this core function of government and spending our road taxes on non-road purposes, the taxpayers are the ones paying dearly for this smoke and mirrors shell game and habitual raid of road dollars. We MUST insist on getting ALL road taxes allocated to roads before we're all taxed off our roads altogether!

Local groups plan for transportation funding gap
by Shawn Arrajj
July 5, 2013
Community Impact News

The end of the 2013 regular legislative session in Texas left the Texas Department of Transportation well short of the additional $4 billion it said it needed to maintain current traffic congestion levels across the state. As legislators continue to discuss transportation funding in the second special session, which began July 1, TxDOT is waiting to see if it will receive an increase in funding beyond the additional $400 million set aside for the 2014–15 biennium so far.

Government offices that handle road maintenance and construction in Harris and Montgomery counties have partnered with TxDOT on funding transportation projects in the past, but many have become more self-sufficient over time.

South Bay Expressway meeting revenues, but why?

Link to article here.

A little history lesson is instructive here. This toll road went bankrupt in less than 3 years after opening. Traffic forecasts were off by nearly 40,000 cars a day! The public private partnership's bankruptcy forced the federal taxpayer to write down nearly $80 million of the federal TIFIA loan that subsidized the privatized tollway. So it's not hard to put this tollway in the black when it's starting with a much lower debt load thanks to taxpayers. So before they praise the private company, perhaps they should start telling the truth about why.

Toll Road’s Financial Strategy Working, Sandag Reports
San Diego Business Journal
Friday, July 5, 2013

The San Diego Association of Governments, the regional transportation planning agency, said reducing tolls on the state Route 125 toll road from Lemon Grove to the international border is working.

After one year of Sandag ownership, the road is seeing increased usage and meeting revenue targets established when Sandag acquired the 10-mile road.

NJ spends most on highways, how does Texas rank?

Link to article here.

It serves as good reminder that the federal data shows Texas has the highest road debt in the country. So if this is causing New Jersey's road building cost to through the roof, it stands to reasons so is the cost to Texas taxpayers.

Does anyone in authority have a clue how much Texas is spending to build and maintain its roadways? We'd like to see a cost comparison from 1990-2000 to 2000-2010 for starters. The cost per mile has likely shot sky-high under Gov. Rick Perry's innovative financing schemes encouraged by Goldman Sachs and the like - debt, design-build, and public private partnerships.

N.J. highways cost most, study says
By Paul Nussbaum, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: July 05, 2013

New Jersey's roads may not be paved with gold, but they certainly are expensive.

The state ranks highest in the nation in the cost of maintaining its roads, spending almost twice as much per mile as the number-two state, California, according to a new national study.

New Jersey spent $1.2 million per mile a year to maintain and build its roads and bridges, compared to a national average of $145,000 per mile, the study said. The lowest spending was by South Carolina, which spent $31,379 per mile.

DFW: Automatic toll increases here to stay

Link to article here.

This is what happens when un-elected boards get control of tax rates - they get pegged to go up AUTOMATICALLY FOREVER unless elected officials stop them. Taxation without representation at its worst!

North Texas Tollway Authority's automatic toll increases appear to be here to stay
Officials on the Regional Transportation Council had urged the NTTA for years to adopt higher toll rates.
By TOM BENNING, Staff Writer
Dallas Morning News
Published: 30 June 2013
 
The North Texas Tollway Authority’s policy of automatically raising tolls every two years is likely to remain in place, even as several new faces have joined NTTA’s board since the policy was adopted in 2009.

On Monday, toll rates go up 5.9 percent, to 16.2 cents per mile. NTTA says the scheduled hikes provide a dedicated revenue stream, allowing the agency to reassure its creditors.

The automatic hikes will continue every two years unless the board votes to stop them.

North Carolina adopts transportation funding model without new taxes

Link to article here.

Refreshing to see bold leadership on transportation that's still fiscally conservative and prudent for taxpayers. Texas should take note! There's a way to properly fund roads without new taxes in Texas, too, but the spend thrift Texas legislative leadership REFUSES to use all existing road taxes fro roads. Instead they choose to spend $4 billion/yr in road taxes for general government. Lawmakers need to dedicate vehicle sales tax to ROADS and END all gas tax diversions!

North Carolina adopts transportation funding model without new taxes
By Keith Goble, Land Line state legislative editor
July 3, 2013

A new law in North Carolina overhauls the state’s transportation funding model. The new model avoids raising or imposing new taxes.

 Gov. Pat McCrory’s 10-year, $16 billion funding model calls for putting available resources to the state’s greatest transportation priorities.

Specifically, HB817 sets up three tiers of projects for spreading state and federal transportation dollars.

North Carolina law previously required all available funding to be divided evenly between the state’s 14 Department of Transportation divisions.



Editorial: Lawmakers stubborn refusal to pay for roads

Link to article here.

It's more accurate to say the leadership of the Texas legislature refuses to fund roads or end gas tax diversions. At the end of the first special session, a key amendment offered by Rep. Linda Harper-Brown to dedicate the vehicle sales tax we already pay to roads passed by an overwhelming margin. This would have properly funded TxDOT with the money it needs to return to pay-as-you-go, but the LEADERSHIP in the Texas Senate, in particular Senate Finance Committee Chairman Tommy Williams, REFUSED to accept the bill with the amendment, so it was almost immediately removed.

Why the Texas House would so easily crater to the few in the Senate is beyond comprehension. No wonder they call it the 'upper' chamber when the House suffers from such an inferiority complex.

Editorial: Texas lawmakers’ stubborn refusal to pay for roads
July 2, 2013
Dallas Morning News

Longtime North Texans can regale you with the back-in-the-day wonder of tossing a quarter into a basket in Dallas for the privilege of driving a clean, modern, no-stop-light road all the way to Six Flags Over Texas, Arlington Stadium or even Fort Worth.

Those, indeed, were the days. And they are gone.

Transportation funding gets one more shot in TX legislature

Link to article here.

Wear: Transportation funding to get another chance at Legislature's spotlight
By Ben Wear
Jun 30, 2013 (Austin American-Statesman - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX)

What the heck, I didn't have any big plans in July anyway.

The Legislature, quick to capitalize on its boffo ratings as a summertime reality show, comes back to the Capitol on Monday afternoon for "Special Session, the Sequel."

The issue covered by this column, transportation, of course will dominate the 30-day session as lawmakers once again try to find more money for the state's highways. Senate Joint Resolution 1, the proposed constitutional amendment to send oil and gas revenue to the Texas Department of Transportation, sponsored by state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, is all the rage on social media now.

OK, who am I kidding?

Updated Edition of Documentary Being Finalized

The Truth be Tolled: 281 Special Edition documentary is being finalized as we end June 2013. Look for further announcements on special viewing opportunities. Take a look at the trailer below.

Driving declines effect toll roads

Link to article here.

They can run but they can't hide. Toll advocates cannot deny the decline in driving as gas prices remain high. That means fewer people have the money to keep gas in their tanks much less handle the added expense of paying tolls on a daily basis. Toll roads will continue to be risky propositions that are an unsustainable, foolish way to address road funding shortfalls. They don't work!

Driving declines could challenge toll roads
By Robert Grattan
Austin Chronicle
Jun 21, 2013, 9:26am CDT

Americans are driving less, and that means less revenue for toll road operators such as SH130 Concession Co., according to a study by Fitch Ratings.

The conclusion could mean trouble for toll routes — including Central Texas' State Highway 130 — which was built by Spanish company SH130 Concession and its parent company Cintra. The road reportedly cost $1.3 billion, and the company will maintain and operate it for the next 50 years to recoup the cost.

TX company lied about safety of concrete

Link to article here.

Texas company lied about strength of precast concrete
By Charlie Morasch, Land Line contributing writer
Landline Magazine
June 17, 2013

An Irving, Texas-based company that manufactures precast concrete commonly used to complete road and bridge projects has admitted to lying about the strength and placement of rebar in its products.

 The fine comes at a time of renewed focus in the U.S. on infrastructure following bridge collapses in Minnesota in August 2007 and as recently as May 23 on Interstate 5 in Washington.



According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, Hanson Pipe & Precast LLC, a subsidiary of Lehigh Hanson Inc., has agreed to pay the United States government $500,000 to settle claims that its concrete end walls and catch basins didn’t meet federal specifications.

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