TxDOT Talks

Texas Transportation Commissioners Reflect on the Road Ahead

By Eileen Schwartz

With a recently approved $21.5 billion plan that will help reduce urban congestion and provide statewide highway, aviation and public transportation funding through 2015, the Texas Department of Transportation's Statewide Mobility Program is set to guide transportation project development and construction over the next decade. A key part of the program is the Texas Metropolitan Mobility Plan, which gives local officials in Texas' largest urban areas more control in the fight to reduce traffic congestion.

We spoke with the two newest members of the Texas Transportation Commission, the entity that gave the green light to the plan, about that and other approaches the state is taking in resolving its transportation needs. Last year, Hope Andrade of San Antonio and Ted Houghton of El Paso grew the Commission from a three-member to a five-member group, which governs TxDOT.

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TXC: You were appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to the Texas Transportation Commission in the beginning of 2004, growing the panel from a three-member to a five-member group. What do you see as your most significant accomplishment individually and as a group during your first year as a member of the Commission?

Andrade: This Commission is faced with tough choices. We are grappling with how to maintain an aging system while simultaneously adding capacity, working to become truly multimodal and adequately planning for the future. Faced with the reality that pay-as-you-go financing can no longer keep up with demand, we have begun to examine and implement innovative approaches to address the challenges facing transportation in Texas. As a Commission, we recognize the importance of diversifying our transportation system to address the challenges we face. I also believe that the Commission has moved into an era of decentralized decision making providing many new, meaningful opportunities for public involvement.

During this first six months of my term, I made 31 trips, covering 28 cities and 21 counties in 11 TxDOT districts.

Houghton: Individually, spreading the word around the state about the new tools available to communities regarding building their infrastructure sooner rather than later.

As a group, the Texas Department of Transportation Statewide Mobility Program with its $21.5 billion in new construction approved in November.

TXC: What are the priorities for the Commission in 2005?

Andrade: Our top, overall priority will be to continue to accelerate project delivery. This is accomplished in a variety of ways. First, we will continue working to encourage communities to be directly involved in transportation policy through the use of regional mobility authorities, pass-through toll agreements and other partnering opportunities realized through HB 3588. We will continue to pursue partnerships that will allow us to leverage transportation resources, maximizing opportunities across the state. Finally, we will focus on developing a plan to move rail away from urban Texas. The combination of these priorities will complement our efforts to mitigate congestion, improve mobility and think and plan multimodally.

Houghton: The Trans-Texas Corridor 35 and moving projects up for construction sooner through leveraging and rail relocation.

TXC: What changes and/or challenges do you see on the horizon for TxDOT and the Commission in 2005?

Andrade: To continue implementation of the innovative tools given to the department. As more of these tools are put into practice, the many benefits of this legislation are better realized. The tools have a synergistic effect - when used together to address the needs of communities, the benefits increase substantially. Plans submitted by regions under the Texas Metropolitan Mobility Plan are proof of this, and they allow us to realize the far-reaching effects these concepts can play in transportation delivery.

Another challenge will be working to leverage resources to provide for the transportation needs of Texas. We are entering a new era in transportation delivery. Traditional funding can no longer adequately provide for the state's transportation needs. We must continue working with communities to maximize our limited resources. Leveraging resources and opportunities is more important than ever, and communities that do so will be able to move ahead faster than those who rely solely on traditional funding mechanisms to address their transportation needs.

Houghton: Major rail relocation for metropolitan areas.

TXC: Will the state see any private-public partnerships formed to build roads this year?

Andrade: I am supportive of efforts that the department can undertake to leverage resources and mitigate costly congestion on our highways, and I believe that public-private partnerships can provide such opportunities. Comprehensive development agreements are one tool that the department has realized. I am confident that the department will continue to receive proposals from the private sector for partnerships and I believe such partnerships will be formed during the next year.

Houghton: Yes, Trans-Texas Corridor 35, and Trans-Texas Corridor 69 in particular. Many more in Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio.

TXC: Gov. Perry's new Texas Metropolitan Mobility Plan is an obvious response to congestion concerns and traffic needs throughout the state, using tools provided by the Legislature to add $12 billion to the anticipated $68 billion needed for the next 25 years. Is this a policy that is set in stone for TxDOT regardless of who is in the governor's office?

Andrade: Because of the financial plans and the bond sales under this plan, I would say that yes, the Texas Metropolitan Mobility Plan as a policy is set. The financial and planning aspects of such a progressive plan are multifaceted.

Houghton: I think it has such momentum and has been embraced by communities across the state.

TXC: Explain the Metropolitan Mobility Organizations in relation to the TMMP.

Andrade: The Texas Metropolitan Mobility Plan is a major step toward the things we have been working to accomplish: accelerating projects, leveraging funds and relieving congestion. While it is a statewide plan, it is a culmination of locally conceived, comprehensive regional mobility plans that will be used to improve congestion in the metro areas. It is an enormous new concept that ensures more local control over many years of the project-specific decisions, as well as how transportation funds are allocated.

The metropolitan planning organizations were instrumental as TxDOT's partners in developing the TMMP and these expanded partnerships are key to addressing mobility issues in Texas. The MPOs identified what congestion-reducing strategies would work best for them and set their own priorities on how limited transportation funds are spent fighting urban traffic congestion.

Houghton: MPOs across the state are the parts that make up the whole TMMP.

TXC: What significance does the plan have for new construction?

Andrade: The impact of the Texas Metropolitan Mobility Plan on new construction is significant. Simply put, it means that more mobility projects will be under construction sooner. Based on plans submitted by local officials, Texas can begin 88 percent of the mobility projects planned for the next 12 years in the state's eight largest metropolitan areas in half the time.

Houghton: Obvious - the $21.5 billion in new construction.

TXC: Toll roads are a hot-button topic in many metropolitan areas, particularly the conversion of existing roads into toll. What is the importance from a revenue and cost-effectiveness standpoint of adding tolls?

Andrade: One of the biggest mobility challenges facing Texas is congestion. Based on this, the effectiveness of toll roads should be answered by how toll roads will impact congestion. Constructing toll roads is one way to put projects on the ground sooner.

The effectiveness of toll roads is best answered by a question - "What happens if we do nothing?" The answer is that congestion will continue to worsen, Texans will waste more time sitting in traffic and the state will miss out on economic development opportunities, which means lost jobs and revenue for Texas.

Houghton: We are not converting existing roads. Tolls will add revenue to the community it did not have before.

TXC: What do you see as TxDOT's "best practices" that set it apart from other state transportation departments?

Andrade: My impression of the department and its operations thus far has been a very positive one. TxDOT is looked to as a leader by other state DOTs in many aspects within transportation infrastructure. Most recently, however, I would have to say that the innovative financing measures the department has been using to accelerate project delivery are what sets us apart. Many states have expressed interest in learning more about the tools Texas is using as a result of House Bill 3588.

Houghton: People - top to bottom the best and dedicated employees. Without them we could not have made any of the above work.