Collin County Engineering published a proposed delivery date
for the Lavon Lake Bridge Crossing 2018 to 2024. This
delivery date is even faster than the delivery time schedule of the
Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge project. With delivery dates being so
soon, Collin County Engineering must assume there is funding to make
this bridge project happen. Comments have been made by various
Collin County officials stating that there is no money in the budget
to build this bridge, (or any other road projects. ) It stands to
reason that toll is the only path this bridge can
take.
The September 14th Commissioner's meeting discussion confirms
toll is on the minds of the Commissioners
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9F8Ccaogq8
October 7th, at the Collin County Public Meeting, Judge Self
mentioned that all roads cannot be toll and the bridge
over Lavon Lake will probably not be viable as a toll road for
decades. This is a logical, fact based assumption. The problem:
Judge Self cannot carry the Commissioner's Court vote alone, nor can
he control the "fact gathering" done by Collin County Engineering
that might seemingly "prove the viability" of a toll bridge across
the lake. Judge Self has been a vote of reason in the past, but he
has been out-voted.
In the
video, Commissioner Joe Jaynes states that this project will definitely be a
toll project. If he is correct, your tax dollars will help fund an
unnecessary, unwanted, privately held bridge. Toll companies
often require non-compete agreements, which force government to
leave other roadways unimproved to allow maximum profit for the
toll roads. Judge Self does not think that the bridge road would be
affected by a non-compete clause, but again we are reminded that he
is only one voice on the Collin County Toll Road Authority.
If Collin County turns its focus and expends its resources toward
this bridge, citizens are put in a really bad place. Will
Highway 78 or any of the other desperately needed "free"
improvements ever be finished
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-17954-San-Antonio-Transportation-Policy-Examiner~y2009m9d10-Taxpayers-get-shafted-in-toll-deal-with-Spanish-company
The idea of a toll bridge is not new.
Don Dillard, who served at the Chairman of NTTA from 200-2004
suggested this bridge might be built as a toll road back in 2005.
In 2005 Don Dillard worked for a real estate subsidiary of the Hunt
Corporation. The following is record of his presentation to Lucas City Council. In this
presentation the bridge funding was discussed as either coming from
toll or federal sources.
MINUTES Lucas City Council - Special Meeting - September 29, 2005
All around the nation toll projects are being planned.
Countless tax payer dollars are being spent toward these toll
projects BEFORE they are ever offered to the private toll
providers, and toll providers are rejecting them. Is
this money being well spent? I think the results of these recent
projects would argue that maybe this money should have been
spent differently, or not spent at all:
Many of the failed toll projects listed in the above articles
were popular with the citizens but there is no such widespread
support for the Lavon Bridge. The citizens have spoken out
strongly against it. Many of the local
population say that they will not use the bridge if it goes toll.
The US Army Corps of Engineers say that NONE of the
proposed routes meet their guidelines, so why draw a line across
the lake that the Corps will not allow? Judge Self says the
project will not be viable for decades as a toll way.
How much tax payer money will Collin County be willing
to spend just to find out this bridge over Lavon Lake will not
fly?
