Honkin' Mad

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood coming to Fort Worth to sign Tower 55 railroad deal, and discuss funding details for the next round of federal TIGER grants.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will be in Fort Worth Thursday afternoon to officially sign an agreement to rebuild Tower 55, the notoriously congested freight railroad intersection near downtown Fort Worth.

The $91 million project, which includes construction of a new track and a makeover for several dangerous railroad crossings in inner-city neighborhoods, is on course to begin in April and be completed by February 2014, officials said.

The federal award of $34 million in transportation funding -- known as a TIGER grant -- was announced nearly a year ago, but the work hasn't begun because the parties involved haven't finalized a construction agreement.

But they'll take care of that bureaucratic step on Thursday at the Petroleum Club in downtown Fort Worth. Joining LaHood will be:

• U.S. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn
• Congresswoman Kay Granger
• Texas Transportation Commissioner William Meadows
• Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price
• BNSF Railway Chairman & CEO Matt Rose

Fort Worth-based BNSF and Omaha, Neb.-based Union Pacific Railroad are chipping in a combined $51 million. Fort Worth, the Fort Worth Transportation Authority, the state and the North Central Texas Council of Governments are also parties in the agreement.

Tower 55 is in the shadow of the Interstate 30/35W Mixmaster. Two north-south and two east-west railroad lines intersect there, and it's widely considered one of the most congested rail intersections in the United States. About 90 trains per day pass through, officials said.

The Tower 55 plan includes overhauling several pedestrian crossings in the Rock Island/Samuels Avenue area north of downtown, where children are commonly seen crawling under cars to get to and from school and home. Also, a third north-south rail line will be built, adding about 9,000 feet of capacity so fewer trains have to park at railroad crossings.

The Tower 55 project will create 900 jobs, according to officials at LaHood's office, and will give the two railroads that mainly use the intersection enough space to grow in the next 15 years without having to worry about capacity problems in the central Fort Worth area, several officials have said.

LaHood also is expected to discuss details of a third round of TIGER grant funding. States and metro areas will be encouraged to apply for more federal grant funding to build projects that can demonstratively add jobs, improve the environment, enhance economic development or meet one of the federal government's other stated goals.

During their face time with LaHood, Fort Worth dignitaries will talk up the importance of getting some federal funding to expand Interstate 35W from Interstate 30 near downtown Fort Worth to the northern end of Loop 820, Meadows said.

@gdickson

Interstate 20 closing Tuesday for Chisholm Trail Parkway project in southwest Fort Worth

The road work on I-20 and Texas 183 (Southwest Boulevard) is a sure sign that a traffic transformation is underway in southwest Fort Worth.

Take a bus to Cowboys Stadium games, starting with the LSU-Oregon game. Skip the whole parking mess!

Football fans again will have the option of skipping the parking hassles at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington this season. The Fort Worth Transportation Authority will offer Cowboys Coach service, beginning with the LSU-Oregon game Sept. 3.

Fare is $10 per-person round trip, plus $5 per-car parking.

The T plans to offer the service to all Dallas Cowboys regular season and playoff games, as well as five college games, including the Cotton Bowl, spokeswoman Joan Hunter said.

Buses load two hours prior to kick-off from the Trinity Railway Express T&P Station park-and-ride lot, 200 W. Vickery Boulevard south of downtown Fort Worth. The last bus departure will be an hour before kickoff.

For more information, visit the T's website or call 817-215-8600.

@gdickson

I-20 closing in southwest Fort Worth for Chisholm Trail Parkway project work

Motorists may want to avoid Interstate 20 in southwest Fort Worth Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. The freeway will be closed 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. from Bryant Irving Road to Hulen Street, weather permitting.

Workers are scheduled to pour a concrete bridge deck for the new southbound Chisholm Trail Parkway frontage road.

Eastbound traffic will exit at Bryant Irving Road, and follow detours to an on-ramp near Hulen Street. Westbound motorists will detour to the SH 183/Southwest Boulevard split, to the frontage road, left across Insurance Lane to the I-20 westbound frontage road and to the Bryant Irvin Road entrance ramp.

Police will be on hand to help with the flow.

Extra Trinity Railway Express train will run for Women of Faith event at American Airlines Center

Saturday is normally a time when fewer Trinity Railway Express trains run, but this weekend the commuter rail line will be running an extra train to help people get to the Women of Faith event at American Airlines Center.

The extra train will depart Fort Worth T&P Station at 7:40 a.m., and from Intermodal Transportation Center at 7:44 a.m. It will stop at all the other TRE stations, and arrive at Victory Station at 8:30 a.m. Women of Faith begins at 9 a.m.

A special westbound train will return to Fort Worth after the event ends. Plus, attendees can take advantage of all the usual TRE Saturday routes.

@gdickson

Expect traffic tie-ups this weekend in Bedford, where Forest Ridge Dr. will be closed for North Tarrant Express bridge demolition

The seemingly never-ending summer heat won't be the only source of headaches this weekend in the Bedford area.

There's traffic, too.

Forest Ridge Drive in Bedford will be closed in both directions at Texas 121/183 from 8 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.

The closure is needed for partial bridge demolition, as part of the $2.1 billion North Tarrant Express project.

Detours will be available. Southbound traffic will be rerouted along the westbound frontage road to Bedford Road, where drivers can make a U-turn and head back to Forest Ridge. Northbound traffic will be rerouted along the eastbound frontage road to Central Drive, where drivers will can make a U-turn and get back to Forest Ridge.

@gdickson

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Traffic development

File this under the heading of unintended consequences. Fort Worth officials unveiled three economic development deals this week, and each includes an incentive for hiring workers from the central city, as well as from all of Fort Worth.

That's standard procedure, aimed at increasing the local payoff from taxpayer subsidies and boosting prospects for lower-income candidates.

The problem is that none of the facilities are near the central city, and two are on the northern and eastern edges of town. In effect, the incentive promotes more traffic along two clogged corridors, Texas 183 and Interstate 35W.

In-N-Out Burgers’ distribution center is planned for just south of DFW Airport, and the Ferris Manufacturing Corp. is penciled in just south of Texas 170 in Alliance.

The largest project, Frac Tech Services, is located within Loop 820, but it’s closer to Fossil Creek than downtown Fort Worth. To get the maximum tax break, 30 percent of full-time employees must be from the central city, which is the highest threshold among the three projects.

But it’s hardly do-or-die: The central city measure accounts for just 5 percent of the total abatement.

Mitchell Schnurman

 

John Barton appointed interim executive director at Texas Dept. of Transportation

The Texas Department of Transportation is calling upon one of its own to serve as an interim leader, while the agency continues to undergo an organizational makeover after years of complaints by lawmakers and the public about financing, pursuit of toll roads and other hot-button issues.

John Barton, a 25-year employee who previously served as assistant executive director for engineering operations, was promoted to interim executive director Thursday by the agency's governing board, the Texas Transportation Commission. Despite the temporary nature of the job, Barton will be paid a salary of $192,000 per year, according to terms of a unanimous vote by the five-member panel during a meeting in Austin.

Barton told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram he is also a candidate for the permanent executive director job.

"I have submitted my resume," he said.

A national search firm is identifying other candidates for the job, but that firm's work is scheduled to conclude in September.

"I know the commission is eager to move forward quickly," Barton said. "I expect the interim position to be for a couple of months, at least, just from the technical part of it. I know they're considering candidates as we speak."

Barton's appointment came just hours after commission members said goodbye to Amadeo Saenz Jr., who has served as executive director of the agency since 2007 and is retiring at the end of the month. Saenz took the helm during turbulent times, as lawmakers and residents accused agency officials of misspending millions of dollars in gas tax revenue, and pursuing toll road projects such as the Trans Texas Corridor that the public didn't want.

One of Saenz's proudest moments came before he was promoted to the agency's top job, commission chairwoman Deirdre Delisi said. In 2001, Saenz was a district engineer in Pharr, and he was credited with quickly rebuilding the Queen Isabella Causeway after it collapsed, leaving South Padre Island disconnected from the rest of Texas.

"Amadeo pulled together resources from across the state and had the causeway repaired in under two months," Delisi said.

Also retiring at the end of the month is Steve Simmons, a former Fort Worth district engineer who served as Saenz's No. 2 man.

As an assistant director, Barton has overseen the department's work on matters such as aviation, bridge, design, environmental, rail, right of way, transportation planning and the state turnpike division.

He grew up in Archer City, near Wichita Falls, and graduated from Texas A&M University with a civil engineering degree.

He has worked at the transportation department for 25 years. Commission members have previously mentioned that they're comfortable with Barton's calming influence and vast experience.

However, Barton isn't a shoo-in for the permanent top job. A panel appointed by state leaders to give the transportation department a makeover has often cited the agency's build-from-within mentality as a weakness, and has recommended that new blood be brought in to the agency's top leadership to give it new ideas and a fresh approach.

Also Thursday, the commission was briefed on plans to lease two more highway projects to private developers. Supporters hope Grand Parkway in Houston and Interstate 35E in Dallas/Lewisville/Denton can be under contract with a private developer in about a year.

However, the state transportation department can't get too far along on its I-35E planning until the North Texas Tollway Authority waives its "primacy" -- its authority under state law to have first dibs on any toll-related project in the four largest North Texas counties. The Plano-based tollway authority has asked for six more weeks to finish up its own study of the I-35E corridor.

The so-called public-private partnerships, or comprehensive development agreements (say those names five times, fast!) are already being used to speed up work on Loop 820 and Texas 121/183 in Tarrant County (the North Tarrant Express), Texas 114/121 in Grapevine (DFW Connector) and I-635 in Dallas (LBJ Express).

@gdickson

Last official action by departing Texas Department of Transportation executives

The Texas Transportation Commission is meeting today in Austin, and at the helm for a final time is executive director Amadeo Saenz, who is retiring at the end of the month after leading the agency through turbulent times.

Saenz has been the chief since 2007, but during that short period he guided TxDot through two sunset reviews at the hands of an unfriendly state Legislature.

Also retiring is his No. 2 man, Steve Simmons, the former Fort Worth district engineer.

Chairwoman Deirdre Delisi recounted one of Saenz' proudest moments. It was back in 2001, when he was a Pharr district engineer, and the Queen Isabella Causeway collapsed. The disaster left no way for motorists to get from the Texas mainland to South Padre Island.

"Amadeo pulled together resources from across the state and had the causeway repaired in under two months," Delisi said.

The five-member commission, which meets monthly, also got a briefing on its plans to lease more highway projects to private developers. Specifically, the next two projects on the block are Grand Parkway in Houston and Interstate 35E in Dallas/Lewisville/Denton.

Planning for those projects is progressing, although the state transportation department essentially can't get too far along on its I-35E planning until the North Texas Tollway Authority waives its "primacy" -- its authority under state law to have first dibs on any toll-related project in the four largest North Texas counties.

The so-called public-private partnerships, or comphrensive development agreements (say those names five times, fast!) are being used to speed up work on Loop 820 and Texas 121/183 in Tarrant County (the North Tarrant Express), Texas 114/121 in Grapevine (DFW Connector) and I-635 in Dallas (LBJ Express).

@gdickson

NASCAR points leader Kyle Busch loses driver license

NASCAR driver Kyle Busch can still make left turns on the racing circuit, but he can't drive on city streets for 45 days.