Transcript Dallas/Fort Worth Toll Plan

Dallas/Fort Worth Toll Plan
Randy Jennings
Founder, Stop121Tolls.Com
[email protected]
DFW Primer
• The state recognized MPO (Metropolitan
Planning Organization) is NCTCOG (North
Central Texas Council of Governments).
• It’s transportation policy body is called the
RTC (Regional Transportation Council).
• The RTC has 40 members. The
Transportation Department at NCTCOG has
73 employees.
RTC Makeup
• 31 are county or city elected officials. Some cities
have to share reps.
• Dallas has 6 reps, 2 of which are citizen
appointees. Fort Worth has 2 reps. No other city
has more than 1 rep.
• 2 reps are TXDOT employees.
• DFW Airport, Fort Worth Transit Authority,
DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit), Denton
Transit Authority, and NTTA (North Texas
Tollway Authority) all have 1 rep.
History of Toll Roads in DFW
• 1957 – Texas Turnpike Authority opened the DFW
Turnpike.
• 1968 – TTA opens first part of Dallas North Tollway.
• 1977/78 – DFW Turnpike bonds paid off 17 years early.
The highway was transferred to TXDOT, was renamed I30, and became a free highway.
• 1989 – TollTag® system introduced on the DNT.
• 1997 – NTTA takes over DFW toll roads. NTTA is a
political subdivision of the State of Texas under Chapter
366 of the Transportation Code.
• 1999 – NTTA opens first part of George Bush Turnpike, a
road that once was intended to be SH 190.
The Plan: Free Highways
I-30 Widening
$ 258.3 M – Tax
$ 239.3 M – Unfunded
183 Widening
$ 256 M – Tax
$ 445 M – Unfunded
I-30/LP 12
$ 33 M – Tax
$ 150 M – Toll Bond
LP 12 / 183 & LP 12/ 114
$ 269 M – Tax
$ 40 M- DART
I-635: US 80 to I-30
$ 30 M – Tax
I-35E / I-635
Unknown Cost
I-35E Widening
$ 98 M – Tax
$ 200 M – Toll Bond
Some lanes will be managed
121
$ 7.7 M - Tax
The Plan: Managed (Toll) Lanes
I-35W
$ 322.1 M – Tax
$ 51 M – Unfunded
I-820/121/183
$ 300 M – Tax
$ 205 M – Toll Bond
Some lanes on I-820 free
I-635
$ 420 M – Tax
$ 300 M – Toll Bond
Tax Includes $70 M
DART/Dallas
Cost includes free
interchange at I-35E
121/114 Funnel
$ 567.2 M – Tax
Some lanes may be free
The Plan: Toll Roads
121 Southwest Prky
$ 280.8 M – Tax
$ 257 M – Toll Bond
161
$ 200.4 M – Tax
$ 250 M – Toll Bond
Pres. George Bush Turnpike
$ 203 M – Tax
$ 200 M – NTTA Toll Bond
$ 39 M - Unfunded
Trinity Parkway
$ 480 M – Tax
$ 150 M – NTTA Toll Bond
$ 20 M - Unfunded
121 (Denton County)
$ 120.4 M – Tax
$ 30 M – Toll Bond
This road is all ready paid for
And under construction now!
The Plan: Unknowns
360
$ 21.2 M – Tax
Study under way to convert
to toll
121
Main lanes not in plan.
Some want to toll to pay
for:
• Itself
• US 75 widening thru
McKinney
• More near-neighbor
projects
• McKinney Airport
roadway relocation
The Plan: Everything Else
• Frontage Roads
– $ 62 M Tax
• Love Field Rail Connection
– $ 140 M – Tax, $ 20 M - Unfunded
• DFW Airport Rail Connection
– $ 60 M - Tax
• Near Neighbor Projects (Secondary Street
Bribes)
– SH 161T: $ 39.3 M – Tax
– SH 121T: $ 70.3 M – Tax, $ 118M – Toll Bond
The Plan: Collecting The Tolls
• NTTA will be hired to collect tolls
• All TXDOT toll/managed projects require a
TollTag®
• Toll Rates
– Current NTTA: ~10 cents/mile
– Proposed TXDOT: 15 cents/mile
– Proposed TXDOT increases: 25% every 10
years
The Plan: Big Picture
The Plan: $ Big Picture
• Toll project funding
– $ 2.9 B tax dollars (67%)
– $ 1.4 B toll bond dollars (33%)
• $ 168 M toll bond dollars not used for toll projects
• $ 227.6 M in bribes to cities
– not counting highway projects
• Cost of driving SH 121
– DNT to DFW Airport
• $ 2.34 - One Way
• $ 1,216.80 - 5 round trips a week for a year
– US 75 to DFW Airport
• $ 3.89 - One Way
• $2,022.80 - 5 round trips a week per a year
SH 121 Denton County
• Currently under construction and fully funded
(using taxes) as a free freeway
• Tolling it will delay the opening
• No toll bond money/revenue will go towards SH
121 (except toll collection costs)
• Turns some cities into toll islands
• Cities where told it would be tolled anyway, so
why not support it and get some bribe projects
• Most SH 121 drivers will never use the roads their
tolls are paying for
• Makes you pay 3 times for the same road (gas tax
x 2 + toll)
Plan Approval Timeline
• Jan 2004
– RTC approves funding for SH 121, votes to keep it free.
• Aug 2004
– RTC wants to toll SH 121. Public comment starts. 2 meetings held
(neither advertise toll conversion). In less than 1 week Lewisville
and Carrolton support tolls without public hearing. RTC approves
plan without projects the same week as first public meeting.
Construction starts on SH 121 mail lanes.
• Sept 2004
– RTC votes to toll part of SH 121 despite 530 comments against
and 16 for. Second part delayed to allow for support from other
cities. The Colony supports plan without public hearing and after a
2 hour closed door session.
• Oct 2004
– Frisco holds public hearing. Plano supports, but gets no bribe
money. Frisco then votes to support. Denton County supports. RTC
approves tolling the rest of SH 121 in Denton County.
Lies Being Told
• “We have a funding crisis.”
– Asking Congress for funding for 3 signature bridges
over Trinity
– Funded questionable need projects first
•
•
•
•
“The gas tax is going away.”
“It will be 30 years before you get that road built.”
“You can’t stop this, it will be done anyway.”
“You are willing to give up millions in funding so
you can save 15 cents?”
• “The service road will be a free convenient
alternative.”
DFW Links
• http://www.stop121tolls.com/
• http://www.nctcog.org/