ihavebeenseen
21 April 2004, 12:11 PM
Toll lanes proposed between both I-35s
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By Gordon Dickson
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Star-Telegram Staff Writer
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<!-- begin body-content -->A futuristic toll expressway that would whisk motorists between north Fort Worth and north Dallas could be a speedy solution to today's traffic problems, and a Nebraska company is ready to build it.
Peter Kiewit Sons of Omaha has submitted a plan to build toll lanes in the median of Northeast Loop 820 and Airport Freeway. Work could begin as soon as next year and be complete by 2008 -- at least seven years ahead of the current schedule, area leaders briefed on the project said this week.
The proposal is one of the first since state law was amended to allow private companies to dream up their own road projects. It is to be unveiled April 29 in Waco at a meeting of the Texas Transportation Commission. If the commission likes the idea, it will ask other companies to submit competing bids before selecting a winner.
Kiewit is joining forces with Carter & Burgess of Fort Worth and other companies to pitch the idea under a partnership known as Managed Lanes.
The toll expressway would provide an uninterrupted, 27-mile connection between Interstate 35W in Fort Worth and Interstate 35E in Dallas -- with the goal of relieving congestion along one of the most-traveled east-west routes in the region.
"I think people are ready for it. They'll embrace it," said North Richland Hills Mayor Oscar Trevino, a Regional Transportation Council member who was briefed on the proposal Tuesday. "They'll be knocking down the doors to get on it."
Up to four toll lanes would be fully automated without toll plazas. Instead, monitors would read something similar to a TollTag so tolls could be deducted automatically from prepaid accounts.
The cost to motorists could increase or decrease instantly depending on how busy the toll lanes are. Electronic signs would be installed at the toll lanes' entrance ramps to inform motorists of the price.
Existing freeway lanes would remain free and would be separated from the toll lanes by concrete barriers.
The goal of the variable pricing would be to limit the amount of traffic on the toll lanes so vehicles could continually move at maximum speed.
Kiewit has a long history of transportation-related construction projects in Texas and across the United States. The company's Texas affiliate is Gilbert Texas Construction of Fort Worth.
In 2002, Kiewit was involved in the reconstruction of an Interstate 40 bridge in Oklahoma that was struck by a wayward barge.
In the 1990s, Kiewit built runways at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, and is building the airport's people-mover train system.
Currently, Kiewit is the primary contractor on a Denver-area freeway and transit project known as T-Rex.
Also in the 1990s, Kiewit developed one of the world's first fully automated toll roads, the 91 Express Lanes in Southern California. The 10-mile project, which was built along a median from Anaheim to Riverside County, was completed in 30 months.
"We're hoping to speed up the solution to congestion that has made Airport Freeway and Loop 820 the poster children for congestion in the Metroplex," said Jerry Pfeffer, president of Kiewit Development Co.
Pfeffer declined to provide details of the proposal, citing confidentiality. State law, which was recently amended so private companies could submit unsolicited proposals for road projects to the Texas Department of Transportation, allows portions of the proposal, including financial information, to remain confidential until after other companies have had a chance to compete.
Even the five members of the transportation commission, who will ultimately decide whether to hire Kiewit, say they don't yet know the details. If the commission pursues the concept, a final decision on which company to hire could be made by the end of the year or early 2005.
The commission has encouraged Texas cities to consider toll roads to make up for a shortage of tax-supported highway funds. A planned expansion of Airport Freeway is two decades behind schedule and probably won't receive funding until 2015 or later unless alternatives such as tolls are explored, said commission Chairman Ric Williamson of Weatherford.
"The transportation world spends way too much time trying to solve yesterday's problems and not thinking about the next year, and the next," he said. "The focus on tolls is to raise the money to do it now, instead of doing it 10 years from now."
Still, local leaders say they want to proceed cautiously.
They have concerns about how the proposed toll lanes might tip the balance of the region's transportation plans.
They also want to know how much local money may be needed to match the tolls.
And they want to know whether the toll lanes might change the configuration of area freeways, requiring ramps and overpasses to be moved.
Even so, the proposal has sparked optimism that congestion can be addressed sooner rather than later.
It may be the most significant change in Metroplex transportation since the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike, now known as Interstate 30, was built in the 1950s. The old turnpike chopped in half the amount of time it took to travel from Fort Worth to Dallas and revolutionized development in cities such as Arlington and Grand Prairie.
Not involved in the current proposal is Ross Perot Jr.'s Hillwood Development Corp., which about a year ago called for area decision-makers to embrace toll lanes. Hillwood supports the Kiewit concept and provided traffic information about the Alliance area, a Hillwood spokesman said.
Companies along I-35W are encouraged by the private sector's interest in fixing north Fort Worth's traffic problems, said James Toal, a representative of the I-35W North Corridor Group, a business lobby.
Tarrant County Commissioner Glen Whitley encouraged Kiewit's executives to keep area cities and the Regional Transportation Council involved.
"I think everybody in our area is excited at any opportunity to accelerate that job," he said.
http://www.dfw.com/images/common/spacer.gif
By Gordon Dickson
http://www.dfw.com/images/common/spacer.gif
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
http://www.dfw.com/images/common/spacer.gif
<!-- begin body-content -->A futuristic toll expressway that would whisk motorists between north Fort Worth and north Dallas could be a speedy solution to today's traffic problems, and a Nebraska company is ready to build it.
Peter Kiewit Sons of Omaha has submitted a plan to build toll lanes in the median of Northeast Loop 820 and Airport Freeway. Work could begin as soon as next year and be complete by 2008 -- at least seven years ahead of the current schedule, area leaders briefed on the project said this week.
The proposal is one of the first since state law was amended to allow private companies to dream up their own road projects. It is to be unveiled April 29 in Waco at a meeting of the Texas Transportation Commission. If the commission likes the idea, it will ask other companies to submit competing bids before selecting a winner.
Kiewit is joining forces with Carter & Burgess of Fort Worth and other companies to pitch the idea under a partnership known as Managed Lanes.
The toll expressway would provide an uninterrupted, 27-mile connection between Interstate 35W in Fort Worth and Interstate 35E in Dallas -- with the goal of relieving congestion along one of the most-traveled east-west routes in the region.
"I think people are ready for it. They'll embrace it," said North Richland Hills Mayor Oscar Trevino, a Regional Transportation Council member who was briefed on the proposal Tuesday. "They'll be knocking down the doors to get on it."
Up to four toll lanes would be fully automated without toll plazas. Instead, monitors would read something similar to a TollTag so tolls could be deducted automatically from prepaid accounts.
The cost to motorists could increase or decrease instantly depending on how busy the toll lanes are. Electronic signs would be installed at the toll lanes' entrance ramps to inform motorists of the price.
Existing freeway lanes would remain free and would be separated from the toll lanes by concrete barriers.
The goal of the variable pricing would be to limit the amount of traffic on the toll lanes so vehicles could continually move at maximum speed.
Kiewit has a long history of transportation-related construction projects in Texas and across the United States. The company's Texas affiliate is Gilbert Texas Construction of Fort Worth.
In 2002, Kiewit was involved in the reconstruction of an Interstate 40 bridge in Oklahoma that was struck by a wayward barge.
In the 1990s, Kiewit built runways at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, and is building the airport's people-mover train system.
Currently, Kiewit is the primary contractor on a Denver-area freeway and transit project known as T-Rex.
Also in the 1990s, Kiewit developed one of the world's first fully automated toll roads, the 91 Express Lanes in Southern California. The 10-mile project, which was built along a median from Anaheim to Riverside County, was completed in 30 months.
"We're hoping to speed up the solution to congestion that has made Airport Freeway and Loop 820 the poster children for congestion in the Metroplex," said Jerry Pfeffer, president of Kiewit Development Co.
Pfeffer declined to provide details of the proposal, citing confidentiality. State law, which was recently amended so private companies could submit unsolicited proposals for road projects to the Texas Department of Transportation, allows portions of the proposal, including financial information, to remain confidential until after other companies have had a chance to compete.
Even the five members of the transportation commission, who will ultimately decide whether to hire Kiewit, say they don't yet know the details. If the commission pursues the concept, a final decision on which company to hire could be made by the end of the year or early 2005.
The commission has encouraged Texas cities to consider toll roads to make up for a shortage of tax-supported highway funds. A planned expansion of Airport Freeway is two decades behind schedule and probably won't receive funding until 2015 or later unless alternatives such as tolls are explored, said commission Chairman Ric Williamson of Weatherford.
"The transportation world spends way too much time trying to solve yesterday's problems and not thinking about the next year, and the next," he said. "The focus on tolls is to raise the money to do it now, instead of doing it 10 years from now."
Still, local leaders say they want to proceed cautiously.
They have concerns about how the proposed toll lanes might tip the balance of the region's transportation plans.
They also want to know how much local money may be needed to match the tolls.
And they want to know whether the toll lanes might change the configuration of area freeways, requiring ramps and overpasses to be moved.
Even so, the proposal has sparked optimism that congestion can be addressed sooner rather than later.
It may be the most significant change in Metroplex transportation since the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike, now known as Interstate 30, was built in the 1950s. The old turnpike chopped in half the amount of time it took to travel from Fort Worth to Dallas and revolutionized development in cities such as Arlington and Grand Prairie.
Not involved in the current proposal is Ross Perot Jr.'s Hillwood Development Corp., which about a year ago called for area decision-makers to embrace toll lanes. Hillwood supports the Kiewit concept and provided traffic information about the Alliance area, a Hillwood spokesman said.
Companies along I-35W are encouraged by the private sector's interest in fixing north Fort Worth's traffic problems, said James Toal, a representative of the I-35W North Corridor Group, a business lobby.
Tarrant County Commissioner Glen Whitley encouraged Kiewit's executives to keep area cities and the Regional Transportation Council involved.
"I think everybody in our area is excited at any opportunity to accelerate that job," he said.