$800 million loan to speed toll roads

A new $800 million loan from the federal government could speed up construction of four Austin-area toll roads -- including Texas 130 -- by as much as 25 years, officials with the Texas Turnpike Authority said Tuesday. Texas 130, Texas 45 North, U.S. 183-A and the extension of northern MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) could all be finished in 8 to 10 years because of the loan, said Pete Winstead, chairman of the Texas Turnpike Authority board. A large portion of the work could be done in five years, he said. The $800 million is the largest loan ever approved from the pool of money created by the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1998. The loan is contingent on the projects receiving environmental approval.

The federal government allows some leeway in the first part of the loan process, but the money eventually would be paid back by the tolls collected from drivers, Winstead said. The terms of the loan, including when it would be paid back, depend on when the state actually withdraws the money. The four toll roads are estimated to cost $3 billion, including land and construction. The rest of the money is expected to come from the sale of bonds, the Texas Department of Transportation, and cities and counties along the highway routes. Voters in Travis and Williamson counties approved more than $175 million in bonds for the highways Nov. 7.

Because of congestion and increased highway dangers created by the North American Free Trade Agreement, the projects have national significance, said U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, in a statement Tuesday. "Texas is adding traffic two and three times faster than we are adding population," Gramm said. "Today's announcement is a significant step in reversing those trends."

Construction on the first phase of the work -- a frontage road for Texas 45 between County Road 170 and County Road 172 in Round Rock -- will begin Dec. 18 near Interstate 35 and FM 1325. That project has been put on a fast track to provide relief for FM 1325 in Round Rock. Work will begin on the MoPac extension early next year, said Phil Russell, director of the Texas Turnpike Authority. Environmental approval for the other three projects is expected in the first quarter of 2001, Winstead said.

Although the MoPac extension is further along in its paperwork and the contractor already has been chosen on the $13 million project, the state will pursue all four projects at the same time, Russell said. Texas 130 is designed as an eastern alternative for I-35 from Georgetown to Seguin. Once built, the 90-mile freeway is expected to relieve I-35 traffic by as much as 21 percent in some areas, Russell said. The 12-mile U.S. 183-A toll road would relieve U.S. 183 traffic through Cedar Park. Texas 45 is a 16-mile freeway from FM 685 to U.S. 183. It intersects with the MoPac extension, a four-mile stretch from FM 734 to Texas 45 in northern Travis and southern Williamson counties. All four are designed to be toll roads to speed up construction and funding.

"The (state) has one-third of the funds available for identified transportation projects," Russell said. "With that shortage, we have to look for more creative funding methods. If there wasn't such urgency, we'd probably still be looking at these as free projects."

Although officials were celebrating Tuesday, the projects still face some hurdles, including the environmental approval. The other $2.2 billion needed for the projects is not yet certain, because $1 billion is contingent on the sale of Turnpike Authority bonds and $700 million is supposed to come from the Texas Department of Transportation. As much as $500 million will be needed to purchase land for the roads. County officials have expressed concerns that buying property in the current real estate boom could be more expensive than expected for local governments. Aware of their fears, the Texas Transportation Commission agreed last week to pay half the cost of the land for the MoPac extension -- about $34 million -- if local governments will pay the rest.