jsoto3
20 November 2004, 02:01 PM
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/112004dntexhighwaybonds.3e850.html
Dallas area wins highway, rail funds
State panel awards $4.7 billion over 12 years for projects
08:58 PM CST on Friday, November 19, 2004
By KAREN BROOKS / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – Dallas is the state's biggest winner in the highway lottery this year, with $4.7 billion in transportation funds earmarked for a plan that includes toll roads and two light rail transit connections to the area's two airports over the next 12 years.
A plan submitted to the state by local transportation officials in August includes toll lanes on LBJ Freeway, the tolled Trinity Parkway around downtown, and the Bush Turnpike extension between Interstates 35E and 635.
None of them were funded until the Texas Transportation Commission approved the $21.5 billion spending plan this week, said Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
"Some of those projects that weren't even funded yet, they were 10 or 15 years away," Mr. Morris said. "And now those projects can go to construction in the next three years."
The statewide plan includes $3 billion in bond revenues, allowing the state to supplement for the first time the traditional pay-as-you-go system of building highways.
That infusion of upfront cash, state leaders say, clears the way for transportation projects, including tollways and light rail lines, to be completed earlier than they would be with traditional funding.
"These transportation projects will help ease congestion, clean up our air, encourage business expansion and improve safety in our largest urban areas," Gov. Rick Perry said.
State transportation officials review highway funds for each area on an annual basis and adjust the projections based on how much revenue was collected.
The traditional funding formula, based on gas taxes and vehicle registrations, would have yielded about $6.8 billion for the state's eight largest metropolitan areas, officials said.
But this year's number jumped to $15.4 billion for those areas with bond revenues from two new sources: the Texas Mobility Fund and the so-called Proposition 14, both of which were approved by voters in the last three years.
The mobility fund was infused with about $250 million in an omnibus transportation bill approved by state legislators in 2003 – the same transportation bill that created regional mobility districts in charge of implementing long-term transportation plans.
E-mail kmbrooks@dallasnews.com
Dallas area wins highway, rail funds
State panel awards $4.7 billion over 12 years for projects
08:58 PM CST on Friday, November 19, 2004
By KAREN BROOKS / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – Dallas is the state's biggest winner in the highway lottery this year, with $4.7 billion in transportation funds earmarked for a plan that includes toll roads and two light rail transit connections to the area's two airports over the next 12 years.
A plan submitted to the state by local transportation officials in August includes toll lanes on LBJ Freeway, the tolled Trinity Parkway around downtown, and the Bush Turnpike extension between Interstates 35E and 635.
None of them were funded until the Texas Transportation Commission approved the $21.5 billion spending plan this week, said Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
"Some of those projects that weren't even funded yet, they were 10 or 15 years away," Mr. Morris said. "And now those projects can go to construction in the next three years."
The statewide plan includes $3 billion in bond revenues, allowing the state to supplement for the first time the traditional pay-as-you-go system of building highways.
That infusion of upfront cash, state leaders say, clears the way for transportation projects, including tollways and light rail lines, to be completed earlier than they would be with traditional funding.
"These transportation projects will help ease congestion, clean up our air, encourage business expansion and improve safety in our largest urban areas," Gov. Rick Perry said.
State transportation officials review highway funds for each area on an annual basis and adjust the projections based on how much revenue was collected.
The traditional funding formula, based on gas taxes and vehicle registrations, would have yielded about $6.8 billion for the state's eight largest metropolitan areas, officials said.
But this year's number jumped to $15.4 billion for those areas with bond revenues from two new sources: the Texas Mobility Fund and the so-called Proposition 14, both of which were approved by voters in the last three years.
The mobility fund was infused with about $250 million in an omnibus transportation bill approved by state legislators in 2003 – the same transportation bill that created regional mobility districts in charge of implementing long-term transportation plans.
E-mail kmbrooks@dallasnews.com