Sunday, August 12, 2007
Aug. 12, 2007 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) --
It would be tough to find anybody in these parts to defend the messy bidding process for rights to toll State Highway 121. Too many people took political, personal and financial lumps for that.
With final signoff now at the federal stage, we look to Washington with the expectation that things won't get messier. U.S. highway officials have yet to officially bless the region's plans to have the local tollway authority run the 121 roadway. In the balance are hundreds of millions of critical federal dollars that have already been spent or pledged to the multibillion-dollar project.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison delivered welcome news last week that U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters provided verbal assurance of federal approval. But approval in writing is the real prize, since the federal government had earlier warned North Texas transportation officials that they were on shaky legal ground in shifting the rules during the 121 bidding.
The Spanish company Cintra originally beat out other private bidders for the contract, but the North Texas Tollway Authority was allowed to make a belated offer. Local officials have feared that the process might be struck down as reneging on Cintra in response to political pressure from the Legislature.
Washington should respect the fact that the 121 bidding is entirely new territory, in which a public entity was pitted against a private one in competition to pay upfront money for tolling rights. North Texas' transportation board judged NTTA's last-minute bid the better one for generating cash to build other projects. With tax support lagging, federal officials ought to help develop -- not stymie -- new, locally developed ways of financing roadways.
We recognize that the 121 process could scare off highly useful private investment for road-building, in light of Cintra's good-faith effort and solid bid. Transportation officials at all levels ought to use the awkward 121 experience to make sure that doesn't become the case.
One cause for optimism came last week, with the announcement that regional transportation officials and the NTTA reached agreement on fine points of the contract. That's called momentum toward easing traffic congestion, and we'd hate to see anything slow it.
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