Friday, April 08, 2011

Texas 85 mph Project "Shall Not Be Named"


The Trans-Texas Corribor officially disappeared from Texas legislative lingo in HB 1201.  Yet the project "that shall not be named" lives on:

The commission may establish a speed limit not to exceed 85 miles per hour on a part of the state highway system if:

(1) that part of the highway system is designed to accommodate travel at that established speed or a higher speed;

(2) the commission determines, after an engineering and traffic investigation conducted after traffic conditions on that part of the highway system have stabilized but not earlier than the first anniversary of the date that part of the highway system opens to traffic, that the established speed limit is reasonable and safe for that part of the highway system; and

(3) construction of that part of the highway system is completed on or after June 1, 2011.

Texans won't go 85 mph on existing interstate or state highways.  Toll roads need a marketing advantage and the Texas legislature provided a powerful selling point.  The bill should bolster investor interest.

This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
Watch the vote and how Texas PPP's into the transportation future.  (PPP stands for public-private partnership).

Invest in Texas.  The Legislature is setting up a smorgasbord .

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