Honkin' Mad

Pay up! Toll violators get grace period before NTTA blocks vehicle registrations

Toll violators have one last chance to pay up before the North Texas Tollway Authority takes advantage of a new state law allowing the agency to block car owners’ annual vehicle registrations.

More than 78,000 people own vehicles that have at least 100 unpaid tolls - and they owe a combined $53.3 million, agency spokesman Michael Rey said.

The tollway authority on Monday announced that a one-time grace period would begin immediately, and last until Sept. 13. During that time, car owners who agree to sign up for a TollTag and pay their outstanding balance can do so without fees. Those who agree to a payment plan will be assessed a 10 percent administrative fee.

“This is a great opportunity for folks,” Rey said. “They’ll never get a lower rate.”

Those who refuse to pay will owe all tolls and accumulated late fees. Rey said. They also will be subject to the new state law passed during the 2013 regular session that allows the tollway authority to take any of several actions against habitual violators. Those actions can include: blocking vehicle registration, collection through a civil court and an order of prohibition banning their vehicle from tollways, which could lead to vehicle impoundment and a $500 fine.

Gordon Dickson, 817-390-7796 Twitter: @gdickson

Private investment in toll roads - a potential multi-TRILLION dollar industry #fundingtransport

@gdickson

I have returned from a fantastic week covering the International Transport Forum in Leipzig, Germany. Here's a story that ran in the Wednesday's edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about the 54 nations approving a declaration in support of private investment in roads. Among the speakers was a chief executive at MacQuarie Group Ltd., one of the world's top private transportation investment firms - and he said the universe of pension, equity and other funds available for investment in infrastructure for pretty much any nation that wants to take advantage of it is in the neighborhood of $27 TRILLION.

That's so-o-o- much money, one has to wonder if it's enough to literally solve the world's congestion problems ... or at least put a serious dent in them. But do we want that much private investment in roads? Do we want any more investment than we already have?

I found the trip to Germany to be a fantastic learning experience, and over the next several weeks I hope to write some more stories that explore these funding issues.

In the mean time, please consider these initial stories a conversation starter, and send me a note to gdickson@star-telegram.com if you'd like to ask any questions or suggest a story idea.

@gdickson

p.s. To pay for the trip to Germany, I was one of 35 journalists from around the globe (3 in the U.S) awarded a grant from the International Transport Forum's media travel programme.

Putting a road on a 'diet?' Fort Worth officials say Forest Park Blvd. needs to shape up, but some residents disagree

@gdickson

Fort Worth City Council members today will get an update on a plan to put Forest Park Boulevard on a "road diet." What's that mean? Well, as the nickname suggests, it involves trimming the number of main lanes on the road, and making it more pedestrian and cyclist friendly. But some commuters who use Forest Park Boulevard to get to and from downtown say the plan is all sizzle and no steak.

New bridge opens up part of Edwards Ranch that was previously off limits

As the Star-Telegram's Sandra Baker reports, a new Clearfork Main Street bridge spanning the Trinity River between Hulen Street and Bryant Irvin Road opens today. It provides a well-needed east-west connection,but also opens up a previously private part of the city for development.

Texans driving way too fast in work zones, officials say

@gdickson

One particularly heart-tugging image seen in some highway work zones is an orange sign bearing the message: "Please slow down. My dad works here."

But while that sign appeals for the safety of highway workers, in reality four of every five people killed in a work zone is a motorist.

"We want the public to crank up their awareness," said Lonny Haschel, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman.

Haschel joined officials from the North Texas Tollway Authority and Texas Department of Transportation on Tuesday at a work zone site along Interstate 20. Speaking on a newly built bridge over the interstate, the group called for motorists to bear greater responsibility for their actions on the road.

"There is over $11 billion in construction in the North Texas area, with more on the way," said Brian Barth, Fort Worth deputy district engineer for the state transportation department. "Your daily commute to work and school is changing on a daily basis and we need every driver to stay alert."

Work zone fatalities have fallen 39 percent during the past decade, said Elizabeth Mow, tollway authority assistant executive director of infrastructure.

Still, last year 134 people were killed statewide in work zone crashes.

"We need the public's help to complete the picture," Mow said.

Speeding and driver inattention are the leading causes of work zone fatalities, Haschel said.

Distractions such as talking or texting on a mobile device are also a major problem, Barth said.

National Work Zone Safety Awareness week is this week. The groups chose Tuesday's site for their press conference because it is part of the Chisholm Trail Parkway project, a 28-mile toll road from downtown Fort Worth to Cleburne that is scheduled to open next year.

The Chisholm Trail Parkway project has created work zones across a swath of southwestern Tarrant County, crossing Interstate 30, I-20, Hulen Street and Texas 183 (Southwest Boulevard).

###

Two extra lanes opening on Hulen Street in Fort Worth

Good news for motorists in southwest Fort Worth: Two additional lanes opened Wednesday on Hulen Street, as officials continued to make progress on the Chisholm Trail Parkway project.

There are now three northbound lanes and two southbound lanes crossing the Hulen Street bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad's Davidson Yard, said Michael Rey, spokesman for the North Texas Tollway Authority.

The entire, six-lane bridge is scheduled to open during the summer - and a new walkway will be available for pedestrians or cyclists.

The additional lanes should provide lots of extra breathing room for motorists, who have dealt with long lines and narrow lanes on the Hulen Street bridge for two years.

"There is still some fencing, and the demolition of the older bridge, but it's a lot better than it has been," Rey said, "They're still doing some final column demolition."

Also re-opening are a ramp from southbound Hulen Street to westbound Vickery Boulevard, and the eastbound right lane of Vickery Boulevard.

Chisholm Trail Parkway is a planned 28-mile toll road from Interstate 30 near downtown Fort Worth to U.s. 67 in Cleburne. It is scheduled to open in 2014. The North Texas Tollway Authority is the lead agency on the project, and the Texas Department of Transportation is a partner.

View Larger Map

Texas roads awash in red ink

@gdickson

Texas legislators are ready to snip the Texas Department of Transportation's credit cards. They say the agency has borrowed too much money - nearly $18 billion - because the state lacks the cash to build the projects needed to keep up with growth.

Photo: ehow.com

Chisholm Trail Parkway cuts neighbors access to I-30

@gdickson

Some residents of Fort Worth oldest neighborhoods are feeling a bit less connected to the city these days after the Chisholm Trail Parkway project cut off their access to Interstate 30.

New bridge connects Forest Park Blvd. to I-30 in Fort Worth - Chisholm Trail Pkwy

@gdickson

A new bridge connecting Forest Park Boulevard and Summit Avenue near downtown Fort Worth is scheduled to open Saturday, weather permitting. The bridge spans the Fort Worth & Western Railroad tracks, just south and west of the intersection of Interstate 30 and Forest Park Boulevard.

The bridge was built as part of the Chisholm Trail Parkway project, the North Texas Tollway Authority's ongoing construction of a 28-mile toll road from downtown Fort Worth to Cleburne. (The map at left is a bit fuzzy, but may give you an idea of the location of the new bridge.)

This is a bit of a confusing area of the Chisholm Trail Project because it's where the road switches from the north to south side of I-30. The bridge will serve as a feeder and frontage road for eastbound traffic trying to get onto I-30.

The old eastbound I-30 ramp from Forest Park Boulevard is closed. This new bridge will serve as the new eastbound ramp. Traffic coming from Forest Park Boulevard won't immediately be allowed onto eastbound I-30. Instead, traffic will taxi to just beyond Summit Avenue and get on the freeway there.

###

Arlington's Victor Vandergriff steps down from NTTA board

@gdickson

12:25 a.m. update: Here's a link to an updated version of the story with more details about Vandergriff's potential interest  in the job of Arlington mayor, as it appears in the Thursday Star-Telegram edition.

Arlington businessman Victor Vandergriff announced Wednesday that he is leaving the North Texas Tollway Authority board, a position he has held since 2007.

Vandergriff was chairman of the board in 2010 and 2011, taking over from predecessor Paul Wageman of Plano, who guided the agency through tremendous growth but was sometimes criticized for aggressive management.

The decision takes effect at the end of the month, a tollway official said.

Vandergriff attempted to unify the board, but was unable to pass through sweeping changes on the tollway authority's reliance on a small number of legal, engineering and other professional firms to do virtually all of its day-to-day work. So he stepped down as chairman and was replaced by former Fort Worth Mayor Kenneth Barr, the current chairman.

Still, Vandergriff received a standing ovation from the tollway board during a meeting Wednesday in Plano.

Vandergriff was a vocal member of the board when key projects were delivered, including the Sam Rayburn Tollway in Denton and Collin counties, and the western extension of the President George Bush Turnpike in Grand Prairie and Irving (a key route to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington).

“We cannot thank Victor enough for the countless hours he has dedicated to working on NTTA projects that increase mobility for North Texas drivers,” Barr said in a statement.

He also oversaw the conversion of the region's tollways to an all-electronic form of collection - essentially doing away with the toll booths - and the beginning of construction on the 28-mile Chisholm Trail Parkway project from Interstate 30 near downtown Fort Worth to U.s. 67 in Cleburne.

Chisholm Trail Parkway is scheduled for completion in 2014.

More recently, Vandergriff was trying to secure construction of the Texas 360 extension south of Arlington-Mansfield to U.S. 287.

###