Appeared in the Dallas Morning News Saturday, March 31, 2007 -
Dear Editor:
Your recent editorial labeling those who attended the March 1 hearing in Austin held by the Senate Transportation Committee a “mob”, is telling. The good folks who attended this hearing ranged from multimillionaires to county commissioners to cabbies and poor farmers. If [...]

Link to article here.
Toll road bids running out of fuel
By Gary Scharrer
Express-News
03/31/2007
AUSTIN — Public wrath over private company toll roads has soured most Texas lawmakers on a 2003 law that started the controversy, but some of their leaders say they can’t support a moratorium on it — at least not yet.As they jockeyed over [...]

Link to article here.
This article reveals several of the troublesome developments with regards to how we build roads in Texas. First, it shows TxDOT’s bullying of local governments. Second, it shows the State is out to make money off our roads, not provide transportation. Third, even local government is buying into the toll road frenzy [...]

Link to article here. This corridor is also known as La Entrada.
Alternative Funding Considered for Ports-to-Plains Project
Source: McGraw-Hill Construction

TxDOT will study private investments and partnerships in an effort to expedite the completion of the proposed Ports-to-Plains Corridor.
TxDOT Considers Alternative Funding For Ports-to-Plains Corridor
With funding scarce for the long-sought Ports-to-Plains corridor, state transportation officials [...]

Link to article here. The whole reason there’s such a dust-up in Austin and the reason why Senator Robert Nichols took it upon himself to halt any further CDAs from being signed is due to the non-compete clause and other horrific details of the Hwy 130 CDA with Cintra. TxDOT is in for a fight!

[...]

Yesterday the Senate Finance Committee added riders to the state budget that would FORCE TxDOT to get approval from the Legislative Budget Board in order before entering into a Public-Private Partnership (known as CDAs in TX) or any agreement with a non-compete clause. We applaud Senator Ogden for his leadership and creativity on this since [...]

Nichols proposes two-year freeze on contracts
by Christine DeLoma
Lone Star Report
March 26, 2007
Responding to the political backlash over the controversial Trans-Texas Corridor toll road plan, lawmakers are seeking to restrict multi-billion dollar highway construction and operation contracts to private companies.
At issue is whether the state should be in the business of leasing roadways to private operators [...]

Link to article here.
DANGER AHEAD
Toll roads a good deal for shareholders, but a bad bargain for Texas taxpayers
March 24, 2007
By STATE SEN. ROBERT NICHOLS
The Houston Chronicle
Copyright 2007
Few issues have become as emotionally or politically charged over the past few years as toll roads. As a Texas transportation commissioner for eight years and current sitting state [...]

Link to article here.
Commerce chief pushes for ‘North American integration’
Communiqué shows SPP far more than just ‘dialogue’ with Canada, Mexico
By Jerome R. Corsi
World Net Daily
March 24, 2007

Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez

While the Bush administration insists the controversial Security and Prosperity Partnership is just a dialogue with Canada and Mexico, a [...]

Link to article here.
‘Don’t pave our land’ Farm Bureau pleads
Trans-Texas Corridor opposition grows, Legislature considers limits
March 24, 2007
World Net Daily

Texas farmers are stepping up their opposition to the Trans-Texas Corridor, a massive highway project that ultimately could take about half a million acres of the state out of [...]