While the big question for Texas remains what funding Congress will provide for 2004, the Texas Department of Transportation has already identified about $3.5 billion in projects that are ready to move forward this year.

"We're hoping Congress will pass a new reauthorization bill," said Mike Behrens, TxDOT's executive director. "One such bill indicates that there could be an increase in funding across the country."

All indications are that Fund 6 revenues, based primarily on gas tax and vehicle registration, will be about the same as they have been since 2002, he said. "We are looking to use the ability that the Texas Legislature gave us (through HB 3588 passed in June) by putting money into the mobility fund to increase our bonding capabilities," Behrens added. "We also have the authority to use our Fund 6 and bond it up to $1 billion a year to accelerate projects."

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TxDOT is currently in the process of working with districts across the state, evaluating and identifying those that may be accelerated. Once a reauthorization bill is passed, the department will put a schedule in place to bring these additional funds into letting for 2004, Behrens said.

The department's program is basically twofold. One part is the maintenance, preservation and rehabilitation of the existing system (roughly 55 percent), and the remainder of the program is mobility projects such as new pavement or additional lanes and freeways.

The Unified Transportation Program divides projects into three categories: planning, development and construction. "Once a project gets in the construct category, that means it's funded and ready to go for letting," Behrens said.

Thanks to HB3588, several projects are being considered for toll viability. Behrens said that if a project has toll viability, "we could come up with 30 percent funding to pay for it." The rest of the funding would come from tolls.

Identifying projects that may be moved into letting, as well as utilizing additional funding possibilities, top TxDOT's agenda for 2004. "We are working to identify cost needs to match to funding sources and accelerating development of other projects so we can use those to increase project letting in 2005, 2006 and so on," Behrens said.

The passage of HB 3588 has created exciting possibilities in the construction industry.

"On the state level, we have legislation to handle what is needed right now," said Tom Johnson, vice president of the Associated General Contractors of Texas. "HB 3588 will provide pretty good amounts of additional funds over the next five or six years."

He added that HB 3588 set the stage for creative partnering through Comprehensive Development Agreements. Johnson cited as an example the partial financing of Texas Highway 130 by its establishment as a toll road.

"The department now has the ability to use some of its money to see how these types of projects work," Johnson added. "As the system is built, we will have the opportunity to look at it and determine if that system is moving faster than the part working with hard bids. Over the next three years, we will have hard-dollar discussions and say, 'Hey, here's what we think is most cost-effective.'"

TxDOT has already identified several other projects that would be possible candidates for faster project delivery.

Portions of Texas Highway 6 in Robertson and Brazos counties need to be widened, but, with current available funding, construction wouldn't begin until 2009 and would have an expected cost of $72 million. By taking advantage of the Texas Mobility Fund, Regional Mobility Authorities, bond sales, toll equity and a pass-through toll agreement, construction could begin five years sooner and save up to $11 million.

A 9-mi. portion of IH 635 (LBJ Freeway) in Dallas needs to be widened to accommodate high-occupancy vehicle lanes, but with available funding construction wouldn't begin until 2030 or later, and would cost approximately $500 million. By utilizing creative funding strategies, the project could begin by 2007 and reflect inflation savings of up to $730 million.

Johnson said Congress would do well to look at some of the funding mechanisms implemented by the Texas Legislature in 2003 such as HB 3588. "There are some new revenue sources out there that should be supported by Congress," he added.
"Existing revenue streams should not be used to pay for bonds in highway construction. If existing revenue source for bonds are used, in a very short amount of time, all revenue is used for bonds, and there is no money left for maintenance and expanding the system."

Although TxDOT is still defining the Trans Texas Corridor, everyone in the construction industry welcomes whatever additional funding it may bring.

"We're excited about the new opportunities for Texas," said Harold Mullen, executive vice president of the Texas Asphalt Pavement Association. "Any talk about new highways certainly gets us excited."

In June the Texas Asphalt Pavement Association participated in a $21 million pilot program for TxDOT's search for alternatives to the concrete pavement used throughout much of the state's high-volume roadway system. "TxAPA wanted to develop a bituminous design that would compete against concrete," said Mullen. "And we used a 20.5-inch hot-mix asphalt concrete pavement, the thickest ever recorded on a hot-mix project in Texas, on a 2.56-mi. stretch of IH 35 just north of Waco."

That asphalt was placed atop a base course that was used when the section of highway was originally built in 1967.

"Durability and speed of construction make asphalt competitive with heavy-duty pavement construction, and as more of these projects are under way and more people are used to them, the cost will be beneficial," Mullen added. "They definitely need to be used on the Trans Texas Corridor."

Since completion of the pilot project, another perpetual pavement project has been completed in the Laredo district, two others are currently under construction elsewhere in the state and a new construction project has been let in the Waco district.

Of course, the headlining issue on the 2004 agenda for TxAPA is federal funding.