Apr. 21--FORT WORTH -- Now may not seem the time to talk about spending big tax dollars on transportation projects, since the economy is in a funk and many Texans are stuck at home due to the coronavirus shutdown.
But, in Dallas-Fort Worth and across the state, elected and appointed officials are working on several multibillion-dollar projects, including proposals that could benefit from an expected infusion of federal stimulus dollars and help get the state's unemployed masses back to work.
Some of the projects, however, are opposed by lawmakers and lobbying groups who think they're a waste of money.
In Dallas, the future of a proposed $16 billion high-speed rail line has been thrown into question after the company leading the effort, Texas Central Railway, laid off 28 of its workers, citing financial constraints. That project, which would be privately funded, faces a backlash from mostly-rural lawmakers who oppose the use of farm land for the rail line.
At the same time, the Regional Transportation Council soon may consider initiating up to $5 billion in mobility projects across North Texas, including a possible test track for a new type of transportation involving a Hyperloop pheumatic tube in Dallas-Fort Worth. Other projects under consideration include reconstruction of Loop 820 and I-20 in southern Tarrant County, Texas 183 in Dallas County and LBJ/I-35E in Denton.
Also, Fort Worth's transit agency Trinity Metro is working on a plan to extend the TEXRail commuter line to the medical district, using federal funds. And, DFW Airport is still planning a new Terminal F, although the project may be delayed for a couple of years because of the financial woes experienced by airlines.
Meanwhile, in Austin, a massive proposal to spend about $4 billion widening Interstate 35 is drawing the ire of elected leaders who say it's an inappropriate use of funds at a time when the economic shutdown -- and the near-collapse of the oil industry -- has slashed the state's financial resources.
Now is the time
Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, says now is precisely the time to press forward with infrastructure projects that will help Texans get back to work quickly and will ensure the state is able to get back on track in terms of its recent history of aggressive job growth.
But, he says the projects can't be built entirely with traditional tax funds provided by state and federal governments. Those resources, which already were scarce before COVID-19, have all but dried up because of a loss of economic activity and a glut of oil that has caused the price of that resource to drop below zero for the first time in history.
Instead, Morris said, the North Texas region -- and the state as a whole -- should embrace technology and partnerships with private companies to get the projects built. Morris said he was "refreshed" to hear recent comments by entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks basketball team owner Mark Cuban about the need to invest today in robotics and other technology -- not just old-school roads and bridges -- to improve infrastructure.
Morris also noted that transportation investments in a down economy have worked before. In 2008-09, during the Great Recession, the Metroplex was able to build Chisholm Trail Parkway in Fort Worth, the DFW Connector (Texas 114 and 121) in Grapevine and the North Tarrant Express managed lane project on Loop 820 and Texas 121/183 in Northeast Tarrant County by seeking creative funding methods.
Federal stimulus dollars aren't yet available for transportation projects, but could become an important part of the economic recovery as Congress looks for areas to spend money on job growth.
"Infrastructure is one of the most significant economic multipliers," Morris said in a phone interview. "We need to stop focusing on us, and start focusing on those 22 million (unemployed) people. We need to get the projects ready for bidding, getting the architects and engineers to work, get the laborers and construction workers to work."
"Infrastructure may be the economic engine in Texas that gets all your people working again."
Concerns about waste
But others are deeply concerned that the state may rush to make decisions about big-dollar projects that could hamstring the state for years.
The proposed Dallas-to-Houston high-speed rail line has been contested for months by lawmakers, especially those in the vicinity of a proposed station west of Bryan-College Station -- and a few weeks ago they jumped on a chance to halt the project after the company leading the bullet train effort laid off 28 workers.
"It has become clear Texas Central Railroad simply does not have the financial resources required or expertise employed to continue with this project," state Rep. Ben Leman, R-Anderson, wrote to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in a letter that was also signed by 10 other Texas lawmakers. "To proceed otherwise would be an inexcusable waste of taxpayer dollars and jeopardizes the integrity of the rules making process at the Federal Railroad Administration."
But Carlos Aguilar, Texas Central Railway's chief executive officer, said that despite the short-term setback the high-speed rail project remains a viable concern, and a possible jobs-booster.
"Unfortunately, like many other companies and organizations around the world, we have been forced to make hard decisions in an effort to make the best use of our current funding, and the result has been the layoff of approximately 28 employees," Aguilar said in an email. "Our core team of experts and planners remain actively engaged and prepared to move this project forward when we have our permits and the financial markets have stabilized."
Aguilar added: "Once we are permitted, Texas Central is a shovel-ready project that will create more than 17,000 jobs during construction and generate a multibillion-dollar economic impact across the U.S via contracts for U.S. steel mills and manufacturers, minority and women owned businesses, veterans, rural businesses along the alignment."
In Austin, organizations such as the Texas Association of Business, for example, have pushed for the state not to spend nearly $4 billion in state tax-supported dollars on rebuilding I-35 in Austin. That association favors using partnerships with private companies -- including toll "managed lanes" built within a highway corridor that also has toll-free lanes -- to help public, tax-supported dollars stretch further.
"There is a way to have fiscal conservatism and infrastructure stimulus at the same time," Jeff Moseley, Texas Association of Business chief executive officer, said in an email. "If Texas re-authorizes public-private partnerships, private investment and managed toll lanes, some priority projects in our major metro areas could be jump-started. That would create jobs and boost local economies without placing additional burdens on Texas taxpayers, while helping government conserve state tax dollars for other needs."
The Texas Transportation Commission, which oversees the Texas Department of Transportation and sets policy for the state's traffic and mobility efforts, is scheduled to consider the I-35 proposal during its regular monthly meeting on Thursday.
Because of limits imposed by the state Legislature in recent years, the state transportation department is strictly limited in how many projects it can build using bond or toll debt.
Some lawmakers say it would be unwise to pursue the I-35 project in Austin until the impact of coronavirus and the oil industry collapse on the state's finances are more clear. Texas relies heavily on motor fuels taxes paid at the gas pumps to pay for highways, and also receives transportation funding from the state's oil revenues.
State Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, and state Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, wrote a letter March 16 asking the Texas Transportation Commission to delay making a decision on approval of the state's Unified Transportation Plan (UTP), a document that would spell out the state's transportation priorities for the next 10 years, for several months until more is known about the state's financial health.
The letter noted that the state's transportation fund receives proceeds that vary from $400 million to $1.74 billion annually from oil revenues.
"We believe it is in the interest of all Texans to postpone adoption until more financial certainty is available and the public is able to fully participate in the comment period," Nichols and Canales wrote. "The very nature of the UTP lends itself to a long-term view of the state's transportation needs, and we encourage you ... to keep this long-term perspective at the forefront of your decision-making."
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