Reprint from the Progress Times - February 8, 2008
©Progress Times 2008 - All Rights Reserved

I-69 could become futuristic toll road

 

By Kathy Olivarez

Imagine a transportation corridor a quarter of a mile wide that stretches from the Rio Grande Valley to Canada. It would have separate lanes for trucks and cars. It would have space for lights and utilities between the lanes. A rail line could run down the middle of it. And there could possibly be fast lanes such as those on the German Autobahn where drivers could travel faster than those who were getting on and off the outer lanes. Sound outlandish?

That is exactly what was being proposed at a Town Meeting held for the Rio Grande Valley in Weslaco last week.

Amador Saenz, executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation presented this futuristic scenario, as one way the I-69 corridor might be developed to meet transportation needs 50 years into the future. This corridor would extend from South Texas to Michigan, creating a crossroads through the heart of the United States that would connect the country to Mexico and Central and South America, making transportation of goods in both directions easy.

Saenz told those present that already there are four million people in the Rio Grande Valley if the population on both sides of the river is considered. The population on the American side is about 1.2 million.

In spite of its large population, the Rio Grande Valley is the only popular area in the United States that does not have an interstate highway. The current route being proposed for I-69 is to come south to Victoria where a leg would branch eastward along I-59 through George West to Laredo.

The main portion of the highway would come further south to Corpus Christi where it would split and come down U.S. 77 and U.S. 281.

Saenz said although construction of I-69 has already begun in Michigan, Texas has not been able to get funding for the highway. Texas has 80,000 miles of highway that is an average of 46 years old. The cost of maintaining those roads takes TxDOT’s entire budget, leaving little for new construction. The federal transportation system is facing similar problems and is encouraging states to find innovative ways of funding road construction. Therefore, in order to construct I-69, TxDOT is considering building more toll roads.

If I-69 is constructed with toll lanes, there will still be as many free lanes as there are now, Saenz told the audience. Most wanted to know why anyone would pay a toll if there were free lanes to use.

Saenz acknowledged that U.S. 281 North and U.S. 77 North still have capacity for traffic without being too crowded. He said that in reality there would not be a need for additional automobile lanes in the near future so none would be built.

However, construction of new heavy-duty truck lanes dedicated to truck traffic is being considered. The advantage of these lanes would be economics. If the trucks could carry heavier loads or pull an additional trailer, by paying a toll, it becomes a good business decision. If a company can use one truck and driver to move twice as many goods, paying a toll becomes worthwhile.

It was also pointed out that when roads become too crowded, people often decide that time is money and it is more important to save time than to save the toll fee.

Saenz said the new Loop 130 around Austin is a prime example. People bogged down in traffic on I-35 are switching to the toll road to save travel time getting to their destinations. As time goes by, more and more vehicles are using the toll road.

There was opposition from the audience to the idea of builting toll roads. Saenz said things are only going to get worse. Since 2002, the inflation cost for the materials used in road building has risen 60 percent. With China emerging as a consumer of goods, there is increased competition for the steel and concrete needed for construction. The longer road construction is delayed, the more it will cost. Costs related to repair from hurricane devastation also drove prices of those materials higher.

Saenz also told the crowd that it would take an additional $0.40 per gallon on gasoline to fund the transportation needs of the state without creating toll roads. Not many people across the state want to pay an additional $0.40 cents per gallon.

There was little expectation of federal help because Texas is a donor state. For every $1 of federal tax money collected in the state, only $0.18 comes back to Texas.

Speakers included Bill Summers, of the I-69 Alliance, who said they supported creation of I-69 branches in the Rio Grande Valley to connect I-59, S.H. 281 and S.H. 77 to the main transportation corridor. This would give the inland ports along the border a boost as truck traffic could use the ports to transport goods from South America to Canada.

Bill Card, presenting the Rio Grande Valley Partnership, called the Rio Grande Valley the neck of an hourglass, "that needed a stint in the artery," which was clogging traffic.

Not everyone was in support of the proposed toll road. Edgar Clinton, said Texas was famous for the high quality of its roads, not for toll roads. He asked if the existing roads would become toll roads.

Saenz said the existing roads would remain free. Expansion lanes in the future would be toll roads. People will still be free to use the existing free roads although traffic could be considerably heavier. A trucking company would have to look at the cost of being caught in congested traffic. If it costs $200 an hour to run a truck for 100 miles, is it more economical to pay a $50 toll that will get the driver to his destination in one hour instead of two? Saenz asked.

Clinton asked how much the toll would be and if the toll roads would become free roads once they are paid for.

He was told the estimated cost of traveling from the Rio Grande Valley to Dallas on a toll road would be ten to 15 cents per mile.

Saenz also mentioned a toll road built in Dallas that was proposed to take 40 years to pay off. It was paid off in17 years and turned into a free road. However, there are no funds to maintain it or to build new roads. The toll roads could be used to generate funds to maintain free roads and to build new ones if the tolls remain in place after the initial expenditure is recouped.

Opposing the idea of a larger corridor through the country, Ron Lozano said, "It is not a given that there will be more cars in the future. Alternative methods of transportation may be used. Instead of building larger roads, the government should be looking at innovative ways to move people and goods."

Lozano pointed out that California has eight lane highways already that, at times, are at a standstill.

Hope Andrade, a panel member, said Texas does have the best system of highways in the nation. She pointed out a possible problem in funding in the future. If cars were to become more economical to drive, such as getting 50 miles per gallon, there would be even less revenue for the state to build the highways needed because of the loss of the $0.20 per gallon on each gallon of gas the state now gets.

A series of meetings will be held across the Rio Grande Valley to allow input from the communities on how they feel about the possibility of I-69 becoming a toll road for trucking. Saenz said that because there is still room for additional vehicle traffic on U.S. 281 and U.S. 77, the only consideration for toll roads that would be affect the Rio Grande Valley in the near future would be the possibility of creating additional truck toll lanes.

The question affecting trucking companies traveling through the Valley is whether to continue to use the free roads, or pay tolls that will create lanes designed for trucks carrying heavier loads at faster rates of speed.