Honkin' Mad

Breakthrough on Loop 820, I-35W project

With all the talk about road work going on in Grapevine, as part of the DFW Connector project, Tarrant County motorists may not realize that the mega-makeover of Northeast Loop 820 and Airport Freeway just a few miles to the south is mere weeks away.

The developer of the $2 billion-plus North Tarrant Express project plans to invite the public to an open house Oct. 27 in Hurst, to make sure area residents understand what to expect during an estimated four years of construction. That week, motorists will start to see the beginning of work zone preparations, particularly near the 820/Interstate 35W interchange.

"They'll starting putting the pad sites down, and preparing the sites for heavy equipment and the cranes between now and the end of the year," said Robert Hinkle, spokesman for developer North Tarrant Express Mobility Partners. Drivers probably won't have to worry about narrow lanes or other obstructions that could significantly slow their commute until very late in 2010 or in early 2011, Hinkle explained.

Also, stay tuned this afternoon as Honkin' Mad listens in on a Texas Department of Transportation workshop in Austin. The state agency and North Tarrant Express developer have reportedly reached a tentative deal to rebuild Interstate 35W from I-30 near downtown Fort Worth to North Tarrant Parkway near Alliance Airport. That project, which includes the addition of toll lanes on I-35W and the reconstruction of the poorly-designed 35W/Loop 820 interchange, was initially supposed to be part of a later phase of the North Tarrant Express project -- but business and government officials in north Fort Worth want it built (much) sooner rather than later.

Click here to watch the workshop yourself.

-- Gordon.

Welcoming bikes on Fort Worth streets

Good news for pedalers on the Fort Worth streets. The city is taking steps to become more bicycle friendly.

Electrifying test drive

Watch Star-Telegram biz reporter Bob Cox climb behind the wheel of a Chevy Volt.

 

Keep On Truckin'

Need a job? Trucking schools around the U.S. are hiring. But, in an era of dougle-digit unemployment, why are these jobs unfilled? I visited a Fort Worth truck driving school to talk with some students, and you can see the report in this video (below) and read this article.

No more free parking in downtown Fort Worth (at least not this part)

For those of us who work downtown quite a bit, but not enough to shell out big bucks for a permanent parking space, finding cheap or free parking is a daily quest. And sadly, the very best deal in downtown Fort Worth appears to be coming to an end.

For several years, about a dozen cars per day have been allowed to park for free across from the First United Methodist Church on Fifth Street, on the western edge of downtown just east of Henderson St. The only hitch is that you not park before 9 a.m., to ensure that Fifth Street can accommodate morning rush hour. It's such a popular free-parking zone that normally by 9:05 a.m. each morning all 12 or so spots are accounted for.

Alas, on Monday, the city took the first steps toward installing parking meters along the curbsides. It looks like the meters will be operational by week's end. Sigh ... Anybody got change for a dollar?

G.

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Front license plate MUST be on the bumper

The Star-Telegram's own Bud Kennedy did a nice job writing about a court decision that clears up any misunderstandings motorists may have about the state's requirement that vehicles must have a front license plate. Bottom line: it MUST be on the front bumper, not on the dash and, as Bud puts it, "not in the glove box to show officers when you get stopped."

Last chance to win a free hybrid car

This weekend is the deadline to win a Ford Fusion hybrid as part of the Drive Clean Across Texas campaign. If you haven't entered already, getcher name in there before midnight Sunday.

The car was donated by the Dallas Cowboys. And since the 'Boys made such a nice gesture, I'll avoid making any cracks about the team needing some kind of alternative fuel for its offense. ;-)

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G.

T official makes the rounds in D.C., but misses Pelosi

I just spoke with Fort Worth Transportation Authority board member Rosa Navejar, who is in Washington meeting with officials to stress the importance of long-term funding for buses and rail. Navejar had hoped to meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday afternoon, but the speaker was called away. So instead, Navejar, president of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and a delegation of transportation advocates met with Pelosi's senior advisors.

They also met with Congressman James Oberstar, the Minnesota Democrat who chairs the House transportation committee, on behalf of the American Public Transportation Association. During the past year, Congress has passed temporary extensions of the federal transportation bill, rather than creating a more comprehensive bill that would provide funding for five or six years.

State and local governments, including transit agencies such as the T, say they need long-term funding because so many of their projects take years to build. The T, for example, is trying to raise $500 million-plus to build a commuter rail line from southwest Fort Worth to Grapevine, and plans to ask Congress for a federal grant for half the project.

"I told them I started riding the bus at age 18 and that's how I got to work because I didn't have a car. We were a one-car family," Navejar said during a phone call.

Of the group's goal in Washington, Navejar said, "We want a bill that pays for projects so we can really improve transportation and people can achieve a better quality of life."

— Gordon Dickson

Vandergriff elected tollway authority chairman

Victor Vandergriff has just been elected chairman of the North Texas Tollway Authority. The Arlington businessman is the first Tarrant County resident to take the helm of the agency, which was created in 1997.

Vandergriff succeeds Paul Wageman of Plano, the hard-driving leader who in recent years fought to keep the agency's authority to build toll roads in the region. Wageman, who is retiring from the public tollway board after 10 years, gave the tollway authority credibility at a time when many in state and local government wanted to instead see privately-funded investors build toll roads.

Those battles -- particularly the scuffle over Texas 121 toll road, now known as Sam Rayburn Tollway in Coppell, Lewisville and Carrollton -- frayed relationships between tollway officials and their counterparts in city, county and state government. And it will be up to Vandergriff and the other eight NTTA board members to mend fences over the next few years.

Vandergriff also has said he wants to bring a new leadership style to the tollway authority, which has been criticized for relying too heavily upon a small number of well-plugged engineering and consulting firms to handle most of its work.

"I think there are some concerns about the board's transparency, openness and inclusiveness," Vandergriff said. "I think I can allay those concerns."

Lots of huge projects are on the drawing board as well. First on the list is the planned construction of the Southwest Parkway/Chisholm Trail project, a 28-mile toll road from near downtown Fort Worth to Cleburne that is scheduled to be in full-blown construction by early 2011.

Vandergriff was elected unanimously Wednesday during a tollway board meeting in Plano. Board member Dave Denison of Denton County was unanimously chosen vice chair.

Although Vandergriff is the first Tarrant County resident to lead NTTA, the agency's predecessor organization, the Texas Turnpike Authority, had several Fort Worth-area leaders. Among them was Dee Kelly of Fort Worth, who as chairman was heralded for overseeing the early payment of bonds for the old Dallas-Fort Worth Tunrpike, which in 1977 was converted into a free road. It's now part of Interstate 30.

Vandergriff, a lawyer and businessman, is also chairman of Arlington's Planning and Zoning Commission and the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. He was formerly vice president of VT Inc. and Automotive Investment Group, the largest private retail automotive group in the U.S.

Fort Worth official meets with Pelosi, lobbies for transit

Just got word that Fort Worth Transportation Authority board member Rosa Navejar of Fort Worth is in Washington today, and she's scheduled to meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this afternoon to talk about public transportation.

Navejar, representing the national American Public Transportation Association, plans to convey the need for a long-term, reliable source of funding for the nation's bus and rail lines, T officials said.

During the past year, Congress has passed temporary extensions of the federal transportation bill, rather than creating a more comprehensive bill that would provide funding for five or six years. That's important to state and local governments because most transportation projects take several years to built, and it's difficult to plan them without a good idea of the long-term financial situation.

I'll try to get in touch with Rosa later this afternoon and find out how the meeting with Ms. Pelosi went.

G.