CorridorWatch.org - Challenging the Wisdom of the Trans-Texas Corridor.

TxDOT Myth Versus Reality

[ HOME ]

TxDOT Myth 1: TTC-35 will be 10 miles wide.

TxDOT Myth 2: TxDOT already knows the location of the project and will direct Cintra Zachry where to build it.

TxDOT Myth 3: By taking thousands of acres off the tax rolls, the corridor will remove thousands of dollars and cripple local governments' ability to provide services.

TxDOT Myth 4: TTC-35 will make it impossible for small communities to exist due to access issues.

TxDOT Myth 5: TTC-35 will wipe out entire towns and communities.

TxDOT Myth Number 6

Counties will have to pay to build crossings over the corridor and residents will have to pay to cross.

TxDOT’s Response: No. Interchanges and overpasses will be constructed as part of the TTC-35. Counties will not have to pay for these connections nor will motorists be charged to cross TTC-35.

CorridorWatch: Maybe. TxDOT has never said that all roads interrupted by the TTC will be provided with a crossing. In fact TxDOT has the authority to decide which roads will and will not be provided with a crossing. Who will pay for those crossings? The concessionaire is building the TTC because they can collect a toll for it’s use. What return on investment do they have on a non-toll 2-lane county road TTC crossing that TxDOT has estimates to cost $2,661,750 to construct? If your county wants that crossing it may have to pay to build it. Maybe your Regional Mobility Authority (RMA), an entity comprised one or more counties will foot the bill. With TxDOT aggressively pushing tolls across the state it’s not difficult to imagine paying a toll to cross their quarter-mile wide corridor. We seriously doubt the TxDOT employee who wrote this response has the ability to guarantee Texans that they’ll never pay a toll to cross the TTC.

TxDOT Myth 6: Counties will have to pay to build crossings over the corridor and residents will have to pay to cross.

TxDOT Myth 7: All land will be acquired under eminent domain at pennies on the dollar.

TxDOT Myth 8: TxDOT has the authority to condemn property for private use and operate commercial facilities associated with the Trans-Texas Corridor.

TxDOT Myth 9: TxDOT will transfer its eminent domain authority to a private entity hired to develop the corridor.

TxDOT Myth 10: All land will be owned by the Spanish government.

TxDOT Myth 11: TTC-35 will open up the borders to Mexico and allow unlimited access for Mexican immigrants.

TxDOT Myth 12: Tolls on TTC will be set at whatever Cintra Zachry wants.

TxDOT Myth 13: Traffic is not bad and can be handled by upgrading existing facilities.

TxDOT Myth 14: The Cintra Zachry contract is a big secret and no details have been made available to the public.

TxDOT Myth 15: TTC will pave over cemeteries and destroy historic properties.

TxDOT Myth 16: Large tracts of land will be taken only to wait decades for the corridor to be built.

TxDOT Myth 17: If a developer is unable to make payments to its lien holders, the road would be shut down and the state would have to bail out the developer.

TxDOT Myth 18: TxDOT has the authority to pump groundwater and strip the minerals beneath the surface.