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About This Blog
Transportation writer Michael Lindenberger, reporter Theodore Kim and editorial writer Rodger Jones cover the subject from tollways to traffic, roads to rail. They invite tips and feedback from decision-makers and commuters alike. October 2010
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Texas again all but overlooked in high-speed rail funding, snags $5.6 million for planning How does traffic affect your life? Official tea party license plates in Texas? LaHood to announce TIGER II grants Wednesday; Fort Worth to get Tower 55 funding NTTA to hold public meeting on toll collections Could Spanish get deal to toll Collin County highway? NTTA chairman: Staff idea to toll free road not vetted by board, will be killed In meeting today, RTC to grapple with a tough one: What to ask for in Austin? DART re-elects Bill Velasco as chairman L.A. closes 7 miles of city streets to have a party. Would that work here? Categories
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The Obama Administration announced another big round of funding for its much discussed high-speed rail initiative, shelling out some $2.4 billion this morning. Texas' share? About one-quarter of 1 percent, or $5.6 million. That's in keeping with Texas' poor showing previously when the first round of grants were announced, and reflects the embryonic state of the state's planning for high-speed rail. Other states saw big gains today. Still, state transportation officials are calling the funding an important, if small, first step to moving forward with key feasibility and environmental studies for a high-speed rail line in Texas. Texas had estimated that it will cost about $14 million to complete ridership projections, feasibility studies and key environmental assessments for a route that could bring bullet trains from Oklahoma City to San Antonio, with stops in North Texas and Austin. The studies will take two to three years, and are necessary to put Texas in the position to apply for federal constructions funds or private investors should state leaders want to proceed. But what's not clear yet is how the money announced Thursday will be spent. To pay for the studies, Texas had sought $11.2 million from the administration, partnering with Oklahoma to better its chances, according to Texas Department of Transportation spokeswoman Karen Amacker. That multi-state strategy apparently worked, as two other Texas-only applications -- for rail lines connect Houston and Austin, for example -- failed. Trouble is, the grant is for just $5.6 million, and its summary description released by the federal government Thursday suggests it is to study a high-speed route from Oklahoma City to Dallas/Fort Worth, wiht no mention of furthering the line down to Austin or San Antonio. Needless to say, many Texans may feel the Oklahoma leg is the least important part of that line. Amacker said Thursday that exact details of how the money can be spent, and whether it will be able to help advance the planning for the longer corridor, will be hashed out over the next month or so as officials negotiation a grant agreement. "This is a small step forward in a very long process," Amacker said. The money will let Texas determine whether there is a "business case" for high-speed rail in the state. The studies themselves will take 18 months to three years, and won't get under way for another couple months, she said. Is the department disappointed that it didn't get a bigger share of the federal money? "They said yes to at least part of our request, and so we are in a better place than we were two days ago," Amacker said. "If we are serious about looking at high-speed rail as a real alternative for our citizens to get from city to city, then we have to do these studies and we have got to pay for them somehow. The $5.6 million is money we wouldn't have had otherwise." Washington's sudden enthusiasm for high-speed rail since President Obama's election caught the Lone Star State almost entirely flat-footed, and Texas has been able to only watch as billions of funding has gone to other, more mature efforts. Still, TxDOT is taking steps to ensure it will be more competitive in the future, beginning with requesting the planning money it needs to advance potential projects. It also has a new rail division which is finalizing now a long-term vision for how passenger rail might complement Texas highways in the future. |
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