TSRT February Newsletter
TSRT Newsletter
February 2010 -Volume 4, Issue 1
Public-private partnerships are working for Texans
On January 8, TSRT released a video demonstrating how public-private partnerships and other innovations are working to meet the transportation funding needs in Texas, particularly in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The video was released in conjunction with the TxDOT Transportation Forum. To learn more about the video, read the press release below or click here to view the video.
The video titled "Road-Building Innovations: The Dallas-Fort Worth and Texas Experience" features transportation projects in the
"No other metropolitan area in the nation is having more success getting major projects off the ground than Dallas-Fort Worth," said Bill Noble, executive director of TSRT. "Public-private partnerships have made these vital, gridlock-busting projects a reality."
Projects highlighted in the video include the North Tarrant Express (NTE), the LBJ Express and the DFW Connector in the
Because traditional transportation funding methods are not meeting our state's current or future transportation needs, the video features the use of public-private partnerships as a successful infrastructure funding option. Public-private partnerships allow local and state leaders to leverage tax dollars on projects that foster job creation, add new capacity, and minimize congestion by giving road users additional transportation choices.
Unfortunately, at a time when these projects are moving forward and demonstrating
"We must urge our lawmakers to restore this vital funding tool. There is growing consensus among transportation leaders and everyday Texans that public-private partnerships must be part of the solutions available," said Noble.
The
The video features officials and experts involved in solving Texas' transportation challenges including: Bill Hammond, President, Texas Association of Business; Hon. Oscar Trevino, Jr., P.E., Mayor, North Richland Hills; Hon. Linda Koop, Dallas City Council Member; Hon. B. Glen Whitley, Tarrant County Judge; Michael Morris, P.E., Transportation Director, NCTCOG; Hon. Jungus Jordan, Fort Worth City Council Member; Dr. C. Michael Walton, Professor of Transportation Engineering, UT Austin; Robert Poole, Transportation Policy Director, Reason Foundation; Hon. Ron Natinsky, Dallas City Council Member; Hon. Betty Ann Matthies, Mayor, Sequin; Steve Taylor,North Dallas Chamber of Commerce; and Russell Laughlin, Senior V.P., Hillwood Development.
RECENT TRANSPORTATION EVENTS:
House-Senate Transportation Committees Joint Public Hearing
The Senate Committee on Transportation and Homeland Security and the House Transportation Committee on Transportation convened in a joint hearing on Monday, February 1, 2010.
Panels of transportation experts, local elected officials and business leaders expressed a dire concern for the availability of transportation funding to address the congestion problems throughout the state. Participants of the hearing agreed that the Legislature needs to take action to identify solutions to the state's transportation funding challenges during the upcoming legislative session.
Panel members discussed possible funding mechanisms for the Legislature to consider in the next session including: ending diversions,increasing and indexing the gas tax, increasing vehicle registration fees, enacting a local option tax or vehicle sales tax, and reauthorizing the use of public-private partnerships.
Texas Transportation Commission Chairwoman Deirdre Delisi told the committee that the state needs long-term stability to fund future transportation projects. Delisi pointed out that the state is facing serious financial challenges in regard to transportation through declining revenues and declining purchasing power of gas tax funds, unreliability of federal aid, increasing efficiency of vehicles and increasing costs of construction.
Other concerns expressed by panel participants included the need to eliminate diversions and to allow the state to once again use public-private partnerships to build new infrastructure. Experts and officials told the committee that the state needs to use every tool in the toolbox and allow as many funding options as possible to get needed projects underway.
Senator John Carona observed that privately financed toll roads are more expensive to build and maintain than publicly financed roads,but Delisi argued that the private sector has greater capacity to secure financing for these projects. She said the state does not currently have the budget or borrowing capacity to finance important transportation projects, so it must turn to the private sector to provide the necessary financial support.
The 2030 committee reported its transportation needs summary to the committee, saying that the state needs to invest at least $315 billion through 2030 to maintain roadways, combat urban traffic congestion, and increase mobility and safety.
Click Here to view a video of the hearing.
To receive email alerts for upcoming committee hearing notices, Click Here.
TxDOT held its fifth annual Texas Transportation Forum January 6-8, 2010 in
The event was hosted by
If you attended the event and have not yet completed an evaluation, please submit your feedback via the online evaluation survey online evaluation survey.
Speaker presentations and podcasts are also available.
Business Leader's Transportation Roundtable in
TSRT hosted its second roundtable meeting of business leaders and TxDOT officials on December 1, 2009. The event included more than 50 of the
TSRT would like to thank the Texas Motor TransportationAssociation (TMTA) for underwriting the event and providing lunch for the guests. Another thanks to the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce for graciously hosting the event at their offices.
TSRT is organizing business leaders' roundtables across the state to educate business leaders on the pressing transportation infrastructure challenges we face and alternatives for meeting these challenges.
Later in the day, TxDOT held a Town Hall Meeting at the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). Representatives from TxDOT, the El Paso MPO, and other local and regional transportation partners, answered questions and provided information about projects, infrastructure needs and funding.
UPCOMING EVENTS AND MEETINGS:
Unless otherwise stated, meetings will be held in the Ric Williamson Hearing Room of the
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010 (note that this meeting will be in
Click Here for the complete 2010 commission meeting schedule.
Upcoming
The North Central Texas Council of Governments and Texas Department of Transportation invites you to attend a town hall meeting to present your views and possible solutions for the
The meeting will be held at the City of
Other upcoming TxDOT town hall meetings include:
Click Here for more information on upcoming town hall meetings.
Business Leaders' Transportation Roundtable in
TSRT is organizing our next Business Leaders' Transportation Roundtable in
Special thanks to CROSSMARK for hosting the event and providing lunch for attendees. For more information on the event, contact Sandy Trumble at 512-782-2402 or STrumble@BetterTexasRoads.org.
TRANSPORTATION NEWS:
The Texas Transportation Commission approved an order on Jan. 28 to support the North Texas Tollway Authority in its efforts to construct State Highway 161 in
The commission agreed to back NTTA with a line of credit that would be available if help is needed to make payments on the bonds that will be issued to pay for the new projects. The order was necessary to move the issue forward because NTTA would not be able to afford to build the roads without help from the state.
Revenues from the projects are expected to sufficiently pay off the debt, but the backing from the state's highway system would provide a protection for lenders and reduce NTTA's financing costs. The line of credit from the state will likely give NTTA a much higher credit rating on the bond market, raising about $400 million more for the project through bond sales than otherwise possible.
The commission will vote Feb. 25 on a final agreement to extend the line of credit for these two projects.
Construction on the DFW Connector is Underway
State and local officials celebrated the official ground breaking of the $1.02 billion DFW Connector on February 17. The corridor, which runs along state highways 121 and 114 north of the
For more information on the DFW Connector Project, Click Here.
NTE Mobility Partners Secured Financing for
NTE Mobility Partners announced on December 17, 2009 that it achieved financial close for the construction and operation of segments of the North Tarrant Express (NTE) ahead of schedule. The 13-mile project involves a series of improvements primarily alongInterstate 820 and portions of State Highway 121/183.
The NTE project will improve existing lanes, reconstruct interchanges and create managed toll lanes, offering drivers the choice to bypass congestion on general purpose lanes. Construction on the project is expected to begin in late 2010 with proposed completion in 2015.
The $2 billion investment by NTE Mobility Partners will befinanced through a combination of public and private funds including $427 million in private equity, $400 million in unwrapped private activity bonds, $573 million from TxDOT funds, and a $650 million TIFIA loan from the
This project illustrates the advantages of public-private partnerships, which allow governments to significantly leverage limited tax dollars - in this case, the partnership allows the state to create $2 billion in roadway benefits, nearly four times the state's actual investment. Other benefits include new job creation, greater roadway choices for drivers and better traffic flow relieving carbon footprint.
"The combination of public and private financing for critical transportation infrastructure allows projects like NTE to be constructed decades earlier than they would have otherwise," said Joe Aiello, senior investment director for Meridiam Infrastructure, in a NTEMP/Cintra US press release. "While other transportation and critical infrastructure projects in the
Deloitte Reports onInfrastructure Funding and PPPs
Deloitte Reports onInfrastructure Funding and Public-Private Partnerships
Deloitte has released two reports on infrastructure funding and the use of public-private partnerships to deliver needed projects. The press release from Deloitte states that "after decades of neglect, infrastructure has finally made it to the top of the political agenda."
However, the proposed level of direct government funding will meet only a small fraction of infrastructure needs around the world. According to the release, the reports entitled"Partnering for value: Structuring effective public-private partnerships for infrastructure" and "The changing landscape for infrastructure funding and finance" look at the economic trends - the global recession and tightened credit markets that have drastically altered the landscape for infrastructure funding and finance - and the impact they have on infrastructure funding, particularly with regard to the prospects for public-private partnerships (PPPs). The reports analyze these issues and make some concrete recommendations for effective, efficient models to meet the nation's infrastructure needs.
The former report states that, "...to effectively capitalize on this rare window of opportunity, governments need to look beyond the short-term influx of stimulus dollars and articulate a much broader vision for enhancing infrastructure as measured not just by jobs but by enhanced productive capacity for the future."
The latter report concludes that, "...there should be an ongoing role for the private sector in the development of infrastructure and the public services delivered through it. The credit crisis may have temporarily changed the economics of public-private partnerships as financial transactions, but it has only served to highlight the need for new approaches to solving the world's infrastructure problem."
"We need to have an open mind about this. We need to think outside of the box," said US Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
For more information on the reports, read the Reason Foundation's policy blog, New Deloitte Reports on Infrastructure Partnerships.
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