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 14

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

TxDOT’s Response: No. The contract is a public document and is available online at www.keeptexasmoving.org. Just as no business owner wants to share his financial investments with his competitors, potential TTC developers do not want to share theirs. Texas needs an even playing field among competitors so that it can attract private sector capital to build needed transportation improvements. For these reasons, proprietary information on Cintra Zachry should not be released.

CorridorWatch: Yes and No. The contract is a public document. The Texas Attorney General has ruled that the entire contract is a public document. Yet approximately half of that document (about 200 pages) is still not available to the public and is not online anywhere. Arguably the most important parts of the contract are "a big secret." The missing information includes the TTC-35 design and financial details. As a result Texans don’t know what they are buying or what they are paying for it. This is a public project and the public has the right to know all of the details that will impact their lives and that of several future generations. The public interest should always be put above that of a private business. Unlike national security, state transportation matters should not be shrouded in secrecy.

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.