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

TxDOT Myth Versus Reality

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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 10

All land will be owned by the Spanish government.

TxDOT’s Response: No. TTC-35 is a state-owned project and any land purchased or transportation improvements built will be done in the name of the state. All property acquired will be the property of the State of Texas. Should Cintra Zachry or another private group develop any portion of TTC-35, their role will be to finance, design, build, maintain, operate and collect a portion of tolls for a period of time.

CorridorWatch: No. All land acquired will be the property of the State of Texas. TxDOT concessionaires will however be granted yet unknown rights and powers to control the use of, and operations on, that land for fifty or more years. For practical purposes the care, custody and control exercised by the concessionaire may be virtually the same as if they owned the land themselves.

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.