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The Texas Department of Transportation on Wednesday signed a 50-year deal with a Spanish company to add private, for-profit toll lanes along Interstate 35 north of downtown Fort Worth -- a stretch of highway considered the most congested in the state.
"This is a major step forward and a day to celebrate for those who drive that Interstate 35 corridor every day," said Texas Transportation Commissioner Bill Meadows, of Fort Worth. "People are tired of sitting in congestion, and we want to do something about it."
Construction on two toll lanes in each direction is set to begin next year and finish in 2018. They will be built next to the existing free lanes.
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The deal is with NTE Mobility Partners Segments 3 LLC, which is a subsidiary of Cintra, a Spanish company that builds similar toll roads around the world, including several in North Texas.
Critics such as state Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, say Texas is selling its future.
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"I'm against toll roads," he said. "But I'm even more strongly against privately owned toll roads, and that's what we're confronting here. And frankly, the way it's being presented is, 'My way or the highway.'"
"We shouldn't be exporting our local transportation dollars to Spain," he said.
Supporters say it's a creative way to leverage the state's limited budget to solve the problem. The project will add $1.7 billion in infrastructure improvements, officials said.
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"Bottom line is, we don't have the financial resources necessary to meet the kind of growth that we've had," Meadows said.
The deal will be reviewed by the Texas Legislative Budget Board and the Texas Attorney General's Office.
A public hearing on the plan is scheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m. at the transportation department's Fort Worth District Regional Training Center at 2501 Southwest Loop 820.
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Leave a Comment:
So we did this because it was cheaper to have another country's company build OUR roads for OUR residents to drive on?? There was NO company in Texas or the rest of the UNITED STATES to give OUR money to? No one else could build a toll road???
Well, you get what you pay for and you deserve what you get! Thank goodness I live well south of Ft. Worth and won't be sending any more of my/our money to SPAIN.
Luckily the American public laughed at Rick Perry during the Republican primaries. He tucked his tail and ran back to Texas, saving the country from his idiotic and corrupt regime. Unbelievable that he sold out his own state. But then this is what can be expected when he proudly claims to cut everybody's taxes, and then says with a straight face that Texas has no money to do anything. So we have to cut education, cut Planned Parenthood, cut environmental protection, cut . . .
Now we all just need to give Romney the same treatment before he outsources the whole country to China, and Ryan before he sells out our retirement to Wall Street and our health to the insurance mafia.
regardless of who pays for it and manages the road, it will put plenty of Americans to work to build it. I'm all for toll roads. The thing about a toll road is if you don't want to pay to use it then you don't have to take it. Typically toll roads are alternate routes to existing "free" roads. Neither of the presidential candidates have made transportation and infrastructure an important part of there campaign and truthfully most infrastructure decisions are determined at the state level; so all of those arguing that whom is elected will make a difference is incredibly uninformed.
..im a loss for words. I either explode or implode when hearing of this. I just do not have the command of the words to properly express my contempt for the evil twisted people that are in power in the State government. Only thought that comes to mind is that there is too much money in government and it has corrupted the officials. The public has turned a blind eye as long as they can keep in the comfort zone. America is in full decline. Only advice is to get a seat near an EXIT for when the end comes.
Dude read the story. How the hell do you say there is too much money in government; the only reason this is even being considered is that there is a lack of money in government. If there was money the state would fund it and not use outside investors. A wealthy American could just as easily fund the money, but as in the case in many toll roads, forgein invstors are the only ones willing to wait that long for their investment to pay off.
What the h--- is Rick Perry thinking about? This is NOT a move for America and you just betrayed a lot of people. You need to leave the party now Governor.
What next for Texas. Let them Mexicans run the visitor center at the Alamo as a for profits venture......
Interstates are Federal highways, so let's hope the Feds will step in and stop the fiasco.
WTF. This feels like a new low. I suppose Spain is going to suddenly offer up all sorts of juicy contracts to the U.S.? So happy we're helping out the Spanish economy. What a load...
So the FEDERAL government gives the STATE government jurisdiction over highways but not help in securing the border? How convenient!!!!
The Feds certainly won't step in and do anything! It's election year after all and Obama needs those votes from the illegals! Plus, why would they ever think of offending anyone. Because, after all, this would be turned into a racist issue if the US forbid a Mexican company from building a toll road. What a joke! Better go take some Spanish classes at your local community center because that's the direction we are headed! Good Job US. Pull your heads out of your a$$es before you screw it up for all of us!
A group of Spanish of investors would be from Spain, not from Mexico. That would be Mexican investors if that was the case smart guy
Green eyed lady should be renamed to brown eyes because your full of @!$%#. It's a Spanish investment company that is spending the money upfront so they aren't spending "our" money they are spending "their" money as an investment to get a long term return. secondly there was nothing that said it would be a Spanish company building the project. The job will have 100% oversight by Texas DOT and will be built by American contractors and generate American jobs. If you don't want the spanish to get any of "your" money then take the congested road and be mad at the world
If the Spanish companie can do it and make a profit, why can' Texas do it and make all the profit????? That may be too simple for the Texas DOT, you know they only know how to overspend.
All of you wondering WHY they gave the job to Spain...Spain does not have UNIONS. Union jack@#$s are one of the big reasons why people look to out sourceing. That and the general feeling in America that you should be over paid for minimal work. If you ever watched a union road crew doing work you will notice that there are a few people holding signs to direct traffic ($24/hr), a butt ton of people standing around trying to look like they are doing something ($25-35/hr/person), a couple of people sitting in trucks waiting to do something($40-60/hr), and people actually doing work ($15-20/hr). This whole feeling of entitlement garbage really turns my stomach.
Of course it is the unions fault. Just like everything that has happened the last 4 years is Bush's fault. If Texas government can't get the pork from the Texan taxpayers to build the roads, they'll gladly accept Spanish money.
As if tearing up Dallas so bad you cant drive from point A to point B without getting in a tangled up mess, now they want to mess uo DFW too? why a spanish company? I KNOW SOME AMERICANS THAT NEED WORK FOR THEIR COMPANY. SantaAnna and Sam Houston fought for what reason? REMEMBER THE ALAMO!!!
Americans will be building these roads with the Spain company's money. All this information is posted on the TDOT website. The Spanish company, Cintra, is paying the American workers to build the roads and providing all the upfront costs in return for rights to the tolls. The agreement is: if Cintra provides the money and builds the road, they can have all the tolls for 50 years. That will reimburse Cintra for their upfront costs and provide a profit. After 50 years, the state will collect the tolls. I'm not saying I'm for or against this, but saying that Americans won't get paid to do the job is inaccurate. There are two American companies working on this....one from TX and one from FL.