State Spends $3.5 Million For TTC-35 Master Development Plan — Study To Be Updated Next Year At Additional Cost

AUSTIN Taxpayers are already paying for the Trans-Texas Corridor, whether they want it or not.

Last week, Cintra Zachry, the state’s private-sector partner in the 370-mile Trans-Texas Corridor, submitted its 1,600-page plan for the project. At a cost of $3.5million, the master development plan has been 16 months in the making.

However, due to what Phillip Russell, director fo the Texas Turnpike Authority division of the state transportation department says is a complex project, the state is in line to pay Cintra Zachry an undetermined amount of money to update the development plan next year.

According to the report, construction of the suggested $8.8 billion project could begin by 2011 and first sections could open s soon as 2013.

In 2004, Cintra Zachry a consortium led by Spanish and Texas firms identified a plan to relieve congestion on I-35 by investing $6 billion to build a state-owned toll road from east of San Antonio to the Dallas-Fort Worth area and to pay the state $1.2 billion for the investment opportunity.

The Texas Transportation Commission authorized TxDOT staff to enter into discussions with Cintra Zachry to produce a master development and financial plan. Work on the plan has been ongoing separately, but parallel to, the environmental process.

Under the master development plan, Cintra Zachry now suggests that the toll road extend south of San Antonio, connecting to I-35. In North Texas, the toll road should connect to I-35 north of Dallas-Fort Worth and run all the way to Oklahoma, according to the plan.

Also included in the master plan is the southern section of Loop Nine around Dallas Fort Worth, a project that has been under study since the 1960s. The report indicates private investment could potentially be worth $8.8 billion with additional concession fees to the state for other transportation projects possibly reaching $1.9 billion.

The basic idea behind the Trans Texas Corridor, as promoted to Texans, is that motorists need a new north-south alternative to the busy Interstate 35. However, the vision of a Mexico-to-Canada route through the United States as a key element of the American Union plays a role.

Much debate has been aired about which route the tollway would take. According to state officials, the final toll road route could be selected by next spring.

Cintra Zachry estimates that it or other highway builders would pay the state a total of $2 billion to let them build the project. In return, they could collect toll revenue for the next 50 years to recoup their investment.

The use of private-sector money to help build toll roads is a cornerstone of Gov. Rick Perry’s transportation policy, said Texas Transportation Commission Chairman Ric Williamson.

Cintra Zachry originally estimated the project would cost about $6 billion and result in up-front payments of $1.2 billion to the state, but both estimates have increased dramatically in two years, due to inflation and the addition of several new projects around southern San Anto