Cintra to Invest $7.2 Billion for Trans-Texas Corridor

A private investment by a consortium of international firms is taking the vision that was the Trans-Texas Corridor and making it a reality.

April TxDOT Highway Letting Dates

The Texas Department of Transportation has scheduled its next highway letting for April 7 and 8. Eighty-four projects are approved to be let with an estimated total of $237,835,150.

A TxDOT report said projects may be added, advanced or delayed as deemed necessary.

Spanish-led Consortium Jump Starts Trans-Texas Corridor

Marking a historic step in the future of Texas' transportaion, TxDOT recently announced a proposal led by Madrid-based infrastructure and toll-road developer Cintra as the best value for the state in developing the Oklahoma-to-Mexico portion of the Trans-Texas Corridor. Cintra - representing an international group of engineering, construction and financial firms - proposes to invest $6 billion in a toll road between Dallas and San Antonio by 2010, give the state $1.2 billion for additional transportation improvements between Oklahoma and Mexico and to extend the corridor into the lower Rio Grande Valley to Mexico.

Zachry Contstrucion Corp. of San Antonio will be a key planer in the team, which also includes Ferrovial-Agroman, Earth Tech Inc., PriceWaterhouseCooper LLP, JP Morgan Securities Inc., Pate Engineers Inc., Rodriguez Transportation Group, and Bracewell and Patterson.

"This is an historic change in the way major transportation assets are built and paid for in Texas," said Ric Williamson, chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission. "Private investment, not taxpayer dollars, will be where we look first for funding."

To address the state's need for immediate congestion relief on Interstate 35, the first phase of Cintra's proposal calls for developing $6 billion in new roadways roughly paralleling the interstate by 2010. This includes building 316 mi. of new four-lane divided highway from Dallas to San Antonio. According to the proposal, pending environmental clearance and the public-involvement process, construction could begin immediately after right-of-way acquisition.

Cintra's package also includes funding options for a route connecting southeast San Antonio to State Highway 130 and for relocating - to the east - the existing Union Pacific Railroad between San Antonio and Austin.

Future projects envisioned by Cintra include separate lanes for cars and trucks on SH 130, a relief route around the west side of Fort Worth, a Trans-Texas Corridor 35 route from San Antonio to the Rio Grande Valley and rail between Dallas and San Antonio.

In return for building the new transportation corridor and giving it to the state - plus paying the state $1.2 billion to invest in the corridor - Cintra proposes to negotiate for a 50-year contract to maintain and operate the new highway as a toll road.

Bush Turnpike Retaining Wall in Las Colinas Fails

Approximately 80 ft. of a portion of a retaining wall adjacent to the President George Bush Turnpike (State Highway 161) in Irving failed recently. There were no injuries. The 20-ft.-tall wall is located on the east side of the PGBT, just south of Las Colinas Boulevard.

The North Texas Tollway Authority, which operates the turnpike, had recently commenced emergency measures to provide shoring and stabilization of the wall.

Contractors were onsite when the failure took place and had previously closed off the adjacent shoulder and traffic lane when the incident occurred. No wall debris entered the open traffic lanes and motorists were not exposed to hazards as a result of the wall failure.

Border Colonias Roadway Improvement Projects Selected

Funding for roadway improvements along the Texas-Mexico border was recently approved to the tune of $50 million by the Texas Transportation Commission.

The action is a follow up to Gov. Rick Perry's request last year to the Texas Public Finance Authority to issue bonds to fund the construction projects. TxDOT began accepting project proposals immediately after that.

Unpaved and deteriorated roads in many of the state's border colonia communities cause transportation and drainage problems. In 2001, Texas voters approved a $175 million bond package to support the road improvement program. The Texas Transportation Commission approved the first $50 million round of projects in 2002. To date, 274 projects have been funded in 21 counties.