Texas 288 tollway a debatable deal for drivers By DUG BEGLEY | March 7, 2016 10:30 AM A tollway down the center of Texas 288 will start to take shape later this year, now that state transportation officials have finalized agreement with the private firm planning the road. The Texas Department of Transportation announced late Friday it had reached a deal with Blueridge Transportation Group, the joint venture that won the $815 million job. Texas Transportation Commission vice-chairman Jeff Moseley called the agreement “a key milestone in advancing this important public-private partnership.” It’s been more than a year since Blueridge -- led by the Spanish construction giant Grupo ACS, global investment firm InfraRed Capital Partners and the Israeli building and real estate company Shikun & Binui Ltd. – won approval of its plan for toll lanes along Texas 288. The project covers a 10.3-mile stretch from U.S. 59 to the Harris County line, including direct ramps to the Texas Medical Center and a new interchange with the Sam Houston Tollway. Based on the final agreement, construction will begin in late 2016, pushing back the opening to the second quarter of 2019. Officials initially predicted opening the lanes in early-to-mid 2018. It took TxDOT and the company nearly a year longer than expected to come to terms, a problem officials blamed on the complexity of such a huge deal. The project is the first in what state and local officials envision as a $2.1 billion, 52-year partnership among Texas, Brazoria County and construction and engineering companies for a private tollway along the public right of way. Brazoria County plans to extend the tollway to County Road 58. Blueridge will build two toll lanes in each direction and upgrade the Sam Houston and Loop 610 interchanges. The company will operate and maintain the tollway until 2065. “This is a first for the Houston region and will bring much-needed congestion relief to the SH 288 corridor years ahead of what could have traditionally been accomplished,” Moseley said in a news release. State officials estimate spending $17 million on the project, with the company recouping its investment via tolls. Concession agreements, however, have a spotty record in Texas. Some, such as the North Tarrant Express in the Dallas area, have been applauded for providing congestion relief without burdening all taxpayers. Others have floundered. Interactive map: Mobility and more at a crossroads in Houston Last week SH 130 Concession Company, the private company that built and operates southern sections of the Texas 130 tollway from Mustang Ridge to Seguin, filed for bankruptcy protection last week. In a release, company officials conceded “traffic has not met original expectations due to the lingering effects of the recession” since the road opened in 2012. The tollway’s growth was predicated on development along its 41-mile route, which has been slow. Even increasing speed limits to 85 mph hasn’t lured drivers. Though the company said operation of the Texas 130 tollway will not be affected by the bankruptcy, critics pounced, reviving old concerns about the deal because of ties between Cintra, the Spanish company at the center of the 130 tollway project, and former Gov. Rick Perry’s office. “Texans should celebrate being released from this bad deal and breathe a breath of fresh air now that we're under new leadership with Governor (Greg) Abbott having campaigned against toll roads and who continues to make a concerted effort to start eliminating toll roads across Texas,” anti-toll groups Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom and Texans for Toll-free Highways said in a news release. Toll roads, however, are far from dead in Texas, as evidenced by the Texas 288 plan. In approving it, officials said the agreement with Blueridge protects the state while adding roadway capacity. Skeptics worry the plans are flawed from the beginning. “All private toll arrangements absent public safeguards -- and not a single deal inked in this state contains a meaningful public safeguard -- are nothing more than budget gimmicks that enable lawmakers to claim they've balanced the budget without raising taxes,” said Melissa Cubria, director of Texas Public Interest Research Group. Transportation Writer, Houston Chronicle E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: https://twitter.com/dugbegley
