06.06.06
Toll Roads To Open Early And Under Budget
AAS has the story:
The state in December will open all or portions of three toll roads in Central Texas, 40 miles in all, officials confirmed Tuesday.
The turnpikes — the extension of MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) north of Parmer Lane, Texas 45 North from Loop 1 east to the new Texas 130, and the northern half of Texas 130 itself — will be the first toll roads in the greater Austin area. These three roads, generally new paths cut through cedar and cactus, have not generated the controversy of a proposed second wave of Central Texas tollways that would overlay existing highways.
The opening will come about nine months before the original estimate for those sections, September 2007. And the construction costs, according to the most recent quarterly statement for the three-road project, are about $125 million below the original $1.75 billion estimate.
[…]
That project is actually over original cost estimates by $90.2 million, according to a February report on what is called the Central Texas Turnpike Project.
But the Loop 1 and Texas 45 North sections of the project, built under a more traditional procurement approach and using several contractors for distinct segments, were a combined $217 million under budget as of February.
Perry, who’s in a tough race for reelection, is taking the credit:
“It is certainly good news for people who have been stuck in traffic jams that this project is being completed a year early and well under budget,” Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt said. Three other state officials, who requested anonymity in light of the coming Perry announcement, confirmed details about the December opening.
I wonder who those three were?