September Highway Letting Dates

The Texas Department of Transportation has scheduled its next highway letting for September 8 and 9. Ninety-one projects are approved to be let with an estimated total of $354,753,818.

A TxDOT report said projects may be added, advanced or delayed as deemed necessary.

Perry Signs House Bill 2702

In mid-June Gov. Rick Perry signed into law the major transportation bill of the 79th Texas Legislature, House Bill 2702.

"Texas is taking a significant step to bring state law into accordance with what my vision for the Trans-Texas Corridor has been all along," Perry said in making the announcement. "I am proud to sign HB 2702 into law because it will add greater protections for private property owners, expand Texas' ability to build needed transportation infrastructure and ensure that roads that are toll-free today will remain toll-free in the future."

An essential part of the overall Texas transportation vision is the Trans-Texas Corridor, a plan that allows Texas to leverage the resources of the private sector to build roads, railways and pipelines faster and cheaper using less overall land than traditional methods of expansion. Private investors have already agreed to pay $7.2 billion to build the first segment of the Corridor stretching from San Antonio to Dallas without any upfront costs to taxpayers for construction.

"As the Corridor idea has moved closer to becoming a reality, I have heard the concerns expressed by some Texans about the vagueness in current law governing the Corridor," Perry said. "HB 2702 will provide greater clarity and significant protections for property owners and ensure that they are treated fairly when the state must build new roads."

Under existing law, landowners who participate in the Trans-Texas Corridor are already offered either a lump-sum payment for their land or long-term royalty payments similar to those offered in the oil and gas industry. HB 2702 provides additional economic assurances.

Under HB 2702, if a new road cuts through a landowner's property, the state must offer to purchase a remaining tract of land if it has little or no value to the owner. If the property loses value as a result of the TTC, the state must provide fair compensation for the damages, including those caused by inaccessibility problems.

As well, TxDOT must periodically re-evaluate the need for building each segment of the Corridor to ensure that construction doesn't begin until absolutely necessary. When construction begins on a particular segment, the state will only be allowed to use property next to the Corridor for transportation-related facilities and the state is prohibited from condemning land along the TTC.

The state will be prohibited from extracting groundwater except for incidental on-site use.

Commercial development in the Corridor will be limited to gas stations and convenience stores, subject to local zoning ordinances and property taxes, to limit the negative impact to local businesses.

TxDOT will maintain oversight of toll rates.

TxDOT will have the legal authority to address freight and passenger rail issues, such as relocation projects.

Dallas Exec to Co-Chair ARTBA Conference

CPBS&J's executive vice president Jim Bishop, based in Dallas, has been named a co-chair for the 17th annual American Road & Transportation Builders Association's Public-Private Ventures in Transportation Conference. Along with CH2M HILL senior vice president Larry Hurley and DMJM+HARRIS senior vice president Jim Weinstein, the trio will help build industry participation and financial support for the event and develop the conference program.

The conference is scheduled for October 6 and 7 in Washington, D.C., and will showcase the latest information on private participation in transportation infrastructure financing.

Sterling Awarded New Contracts

Sterling Construction Co. Inc. recently announced that it was low bidder on two TxDOT contracts with a combined value of approximately $24 million. The larger of the two awards, valued at more than $21 million, encompasses the building of storm sewers and concrete paving for FM 518 in Galveston County. Work is scheduled to begin in September. The second award is in San Antonio, where Sterling crews will build water, sanitary and storm sewers and then repave McCullough Avenue. The one-year project is also expected to begin in September.