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Mar 18, 2013

CRIMINAL CHARGES: "PAY to PLAY" SCHEME * USA

* Pennsylvania - Former state senator, and PA Turnpike officials charged in 'pay to play' scheme

(Photo: A four-level interchange at Toronto (Canada)'s highway 407 ETR) 
Olympia,WASH,USA -Land Line, by David Tanner -14 March 2013: -- Former Pennsylvania Turnpike officials including Commissioner, Mitchell Rubin, and CEO, Joseph Brimmeier, are facing criminal charges stemming from a lengthy grand jury investigation, Attorney General, Kathleen G. Kane, announced Wednesday, March 13. Kane also announced charges against former state Sen. Robert Mellow... Kane said Rubin, Brimmeier, Mellow and five others, including two contractors who made millions, face a variety of offenses... A posting on Kane’s website states the following: “The grand jury heard evidence of secret gifts of cash, travel, and entertainment, and the payment of substantial political contributions to public officials and political organizations, by private Turnpike vendors and their consultants… The charges show those who ‘pay to play’ have sought and been rewarded with multimillion dollar Turnpike contracts. As a result, the public has lost millions of dollars” ...


* Washington - State funding plan a work in progress

(Photo: Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie Pass)
Olympia,WASH,USA -Land Line, by Keith Goble -15 March 2013: -- Competing plans offered at the Washington statehouse provide funding options that would increase the state’s fuel tax rate by a dime or pursue other methods to generate transportation revenue... House Democrats offered a nearly $10 billion tax package that includes a 10-cent-per-gallon fuel tax increase to pay for roads, bridges and transit work... House Republicans have instead called on their counterparts to enact a transportation reform package before the conversation turns to increasing the state’s 37.5-cent-per-gallon fuel tax... The $9.8 billion initiative includes provisions to increasing vehicle registration fees and charging a bicycle fee... Projects that would benefit from the additional funding include widening Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie Pass, adding lanes to Interstate 405, and building the Columbia River Crossing. The project would replace the Interstate 5 Bridge over the Columbia River and improve nearby interchanges...

* Texas - Truck discount extended on Central Texas toll road 

(Photo: SH 130 opened as a tolled freeway from SH 71 east of Austin south to US 183)
Austin,TXS,USA -Land Line, by David Tanner -14 March 201: -- Truckers will pay the same rate as four wheelers for the next 12 months on the SH 130 toll road in Central Texas. The Texas Department of Transportation says the discount is an incentive to reduce truck traffic on Interstate 35 through Austin... If the discount sounds familiar, it is. TxDOT experimented with the price reduction in late 2011 and early 2012, and reported a 50 percent increase in truck toll transactions. TxDOT tried it again from Feb. 4 through March 3 of this year, posting similar results... Driving traffic to the tollway, through the discount and a higher speed limit, allows TxDOT to collect an extra $33 million from the tollway operator, a consortium consisting of Cintra of Spain and Texas-based Zachry American Infrastructure...

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Nov 4, 2008

PRIVATIZATION * USA - New FHWA office to promote congestion pricing ... etc...

"The new office is hitting the taxpayers three times – a fuel tax, a toll, and paying to staff this office”

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine, by David Tanner -November 3, 2008: -- The Federal Highway Administration has launched a new taxpayer-funded office dedicated to the tolling of congested roadways... Officials with FHWA announced Friday, Oct. 31, that the new Office of Innovative Program Delivery will promote congestion pricing while working with states to reduce traffic and pay for roadway improvements... Representatives for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association say the new office is another attempt by the Bush administration to promote tolling as a transportation philosophy while taxpayers foot the bill... “Looks like that new office would be paid for by the Highway Trust Fund, hitting the taxpayers three times – a fuel tax, a toll, and paying to staff this office,” OOIDA Associate Director of Government Affairs Melissa Theriault told Land Line Magazine...

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Oct 17, 2008

75-year lease * USA - Private Group to Pull Out of Bid for Turnpike

PENN,USA -The Financial Times, by Robert Wright -1 Oct 2008: -- Pennsylvania Transportation Partners, led by the Citigroup and Spanish toll road operator Abertis, is pulling out of a plan to secure a 75-year lease of the 537-mile Pennsylvania Turnpike toll road... The companies let their offer lapse, but they and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell say they hope to revisit the project next year. The proposal to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike never gained traction in the legislature and a series of opinion polls showed voters were opposed to it. The Pennsylvania deal had been seen as key to encouraging other states considering deals to hand over operation of some roads to the private sector to press ahead...

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Dec 20, 2007

TOLL ROADS DEBATE * USA - Nevada study group pushing for privatization

NV,USA -The Nevada Appeal/Land Line Magazine -December 18, 2007: -- In hopes of tapping into public-private partnerships to build highways in Nevada, a special panel created by the governor has decided to call on state lawmakers to make it happen... Plans are to allow private groups to construct additional lanes in highly congested areas to make it easier for drivers to bypass traffic jams for a fee. Among the routes mentioned for possible expansion are Interstate 15 and the Boulder City bypass, reported...

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Nov 21, 2007

TOLL ROADS DEBATE * USA - Arizona legislator pushes for privatized toll roads

A leading Arizona state lawmaker says tapping into privatization to build toll roads appears to be the best option to come up with money for new highways

AZ,USA -The Associated Press/Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -November 19, 2007: -- ... While the thought of tolling highways is unpopular among many in Arizona, House Transportation Chairman Andy Biggs said it is more palatable to lawmakers than increasing fuel or sales taxes... He only wants to have tolls on new, privately-financed roads. He is opposed to tolling existing roads... Any pay-as-you-go road should have free alternate routes, Biggs said...

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Nov 3, 2007

INFRASTRUCTURES * USA - Roads and Bridges weighed in Massachusetts

A leading state lawmaker in Massachusetts is calling for officials in the state to look into the possibility of privatizing roads and bridges

MAS,USA - The Boston Herald/Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -November 02, 2007: -- ... Senate President Therese Murray said she wants the state to consider leasing or selling roads or bridges to private groups. Contracting with private business would help eat into a $19 billion transportation funding crisis in the state, she told... Murray didn’t go so far as to endorse privatization of roads and bridges. But she said privatizing assets, such as the Massachusetts Turnpike, should be analyzed before lawmakers call for boosting the state’s fuel tax rate or implementing new per-mile tolls on state highways... Critics say privatizing roads and bridges actually can lead to higher fees charged to users... (Photo by www.gintsoftware.com: Central Artery/Tunnel Project (Massachusetts Turnpike Authority )

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Oct 22, 2007

Privatization a Religion? * USA - Rendell's turnpike plan would sell out the public

One of the great appeals of capitalism is that you can do well by doing good. Everyone benefits, everyone profits. Sometimes the world works that way, but not always. Sometimes doing good demands sacrifice, and often the welfare of the group is at odds with the interests of particular citizens. The interests of a robust private sphere must be balanced against larger social concerns. That's why we have a government, and why we shouldn't always be so eager to throw it away

Philadelphia,PA,USA -The Philadelphia Inquirer, by Mark Bowden -22 Oct 2007: -- In the course of making a smart move last week to turn operation of Interstate 80 over to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Gov. Rendell again raised the bad idea of leasing the other major state east-west roadway, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, to a private operator... The good idea will not be painless. It will impose a hardship on the trucking industry and could adversely affect some sectors of the state's economy, but it will provide substantial, predictable funding to repair and upgrade roads, bridges and transit systems throughout Pennsylvania. It is a smart tax, one that targets a relatively small, appropriate portion of the citizenry to raise money that will benefit all. Most important, the turnpike commission is a public agency, meaning that every penny of the money raised by higher tolls will be spent in the public's interest... (Photo by CAROLYN KASTER / Associated Press - Gov. Rendell's bad idea to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike is part of the continuing debasement of the public sphere and the elevation of privatization to a religion)

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Jun 27, 2007

PRIVATIZATIONS * USA

* Legislative mix-up gives New Jersey governor privatization power
NJ,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO,USA) , by Reed Black -June 25, 2007: -- Although they didn’t plan to, New Jersey lawmakers have given Gov. Jon Corzine a free pass to get ready to lease or sell state assets, such as the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway... According to media reports, a 291-page budget bill the lawmakers were racing the clock to pass contained a few paragraphs authorizing the governor to do “what may be necessary” to privatize state highways...

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May 2, 2007

DEBATE * USA - Privatization of the Toll roads

Mexican toll road crumbles, privatization still the talk

USA -Land Line Magazine, by David Tanner/Los Angeles Times -May 1 , 2007: -- Proponents of highway privatization use efficiency as one of their supporting arguments. But try selling that to motorists and truck drivers in Mexico, who pay up to $70 U.S. for a round trip on one formerly private toll road that is filled with potholes... The 163-mile, privately built Sun Highway – Autopista del Sol in Spanish – is a “cavalry of cracks, potholes and risks,” according to a recent Mexican newspaper report... The private road operator walked away from the lease deal prematurely, leaving the government holding a $60 million price tag for repairs... Mexico has spent $14 billion to bail out a number of privatization projects gone awry since the 1990s, the Times reported... “What happened there was an example of what can go wrong,” OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer said. “It tells me that the price was so high on those roads that people wouldn’t use them and they weren’t maintained.” Spencer said the Mexican toll road debacle is “a classic example of profiteering” while the needs of the public have not been met. “It was a short-sighted, quick-buck motivation from the start,” Spencer said. –

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Apr 3, 2007

DEBATE * USA - Privatization Toll Roads

* Pass GO, collect billion$ - Big spenders battle for public assets in high stakes game
Grain Valley,MO,USA -Land Line Magazine: March/April 2007, by David Tanner & Sandi Soendker -April 2, 2007: -- ... Even with the administration’s position well-documented, it was still a surprise when U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced Jan. 8 that the DOT would assist states with model legislation on how to privatize infrastructure... Who are these mega-corporations that now essentially own the Indiana Toll Road, the Chicago Skyway and Canada’s 407 Express Toll Route? Who are these powerful big spenders now rolling the dice for dozens of other major highways? Pay attention. Here are some of the top players:

* Macquarie Bank –
* Cintra Concesiones de Infrastructuras de Transporte, S.A. –
* Transurban Group –
* Abertis –
* SNC Lavalin –
* (And) Others ready to take their turn – You may not know their names yet, but there are more players ready to enter this lucrative game. Some are funded by foreign consortiums and will be controlled by foreign management... Some of them are on the long list of companies that filed proposals in Pennsylvania, and are among the stream of bidders for privatized toll roads in Texas. It’s clear that companies like Credit Suisse, Iridium of Spain, OHL Concesiones of Mexico, Deutsche Bank, Arcadis of the Netherlands, Skanska of Sweden, and Grupo Ferrovial – which owns Cintra of Spain – are ready to play... Sounds of rattling dice are already emanating from outfits like Morgan Stanley, ING Group, Bear Stearns, J.P. Morgan, KPMG, Wachovia and others. The Carlyle Group is a cagey veteran and must not be discounted as a major grabber upper...
The lawyers and brokers
Where would any of these deals be without the lawyers? The Ice Miller law firm... Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw... And don’t overlook Goldman, Sachs & Co...
Anybody challenging these big spenders?
In recent months, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission made news, going up to bat against 47 companies that submitted proposals to Gov. Ed Rendell to privatize the state turnpike. Commissioners suggested the state itself should add tolls to Interstate 80 to help fund transportation, rather than leasing or selling the turnpike to private, for-profit businesses... State lawmakers around the nation who are proposing legislation to keep public-private partnerships in check are getting some attention, too...
Opinions abound across the board
Truckers, taxpayers and lawmakers are on the front line, speaking out about these high-stakes deals. Here is a sampling of what they are saying. We also included a view from one of the companies involved in this big-money game, so you can learn a bit about their motivation – profit...

* It’s a private matter - Legislators tackle privatization of public roads, infrastructure
Grain Valley,MO,USA -Land Line Magazine: March/April 2007, by Keith Goblestate -April 2, 2007: -- While more than 20 states already allow for privatization of public roads, lawmakers in two states where the process has been implemented are working either to expand the concept or diminish its appeal... Legislators in another statehouse are waging a battle about whether to allow their state to join in the leasing process... What happens in these battleground states is being watched closely by power brokers throughout the nation – and the world. Some lawmakers see privatization as a way to generate cash for their strapped state budgets. Others say the cash they get now won’t help in the long run...

* Mississippi lawmakers OK use of tolls
Grain Valley,MO,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 2, 2007: -- After a decade’s worth of unsuccessful attempts, the Mississippi Legislature has approved a bill that would create tolls along some roads and bridges in the state and give the state another tool to raise revenue... The bill – SB2375 – would authorize the Mississippi Department of Transportation, county boards of supervisors and city officials to contract with private industry to construct roads and bridges and collect tolls to pay off the work. Local governments also would be allowed to use bonds to finance toll projects...

* Unleash private sector? That dog don’t hunt
Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine: March/April 2007, by Rod Nofziger -April 2, 2007: -- Imagine a day in the not-too-far-off future, let’s say 10 years or so from now. You are planning to run a load along the turnpikes from Philadelphia to Chicago. Now that Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana – along with the city of Chicago – have privatized their turnpikes, the trip will cost you upwards of $400 in tolls... Want to duck the tolls? Your options are significantly limited. Most alternative routes are either too congested from traffic diverted off the toll pikes, or not available because local folks got tired of all the big rigs running through town and banned trucks. Some have tolls on them as well... In fact, the interstates you might take to get around turnpike tolls are also up for sale by now – states ran out of money, again. By the way, you will also confront tolls out West where states like Montana and Utah have jumped on the tolling and privatization bandwagons... Before heading down the road, do not forget to factor in the costs from increased fuel taxes, permitting fees and mileage weight taxes that the federal government and states have instituted. They had to do that to fill the holes left in transportation funding after they squandered away taxpayers’ money... Also, be sure to think through every conceivable manner in which you can cut your on-the-road expenses...

* USA - New rates for trucks on Toll Road
Indianapolis,IN,USA -The Indianapolis Star/WSBT-TV/The South Bend Tribune - April 2, 2007: -- Truckers are now paying more to drive the Indiana Toll Road... The new toll rates took effect Sunday for commercial vehicles with more than two axles. Driving the entire 157 miles will cost $10 for three-axle trucks and $17.50 for four-axle vehicles. The hike would not effect standard cars and trucks... Last year, the state leased the toll road to an overseas consortium for 75 years in exchange for nearly $4 billion...

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Feb 21, 2007

* USA - ATA’s Graves Criticizes Privatization Trend

VA,USA -TTNews -21 Feb 2007: -- American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves criticized the growing trend of privatization of toll roads on CNBC’s “Street Signs” program Tuesday... Graves said politicians should not “leverage the future with get-rich-quick schemes” and should be held accountable to make roads more accessible. He said more expensive toll roads could lead to more traffic taking other routes, compromising safety... ATA was among several groups that earlier this month formed a coalition to oppose the trend toward privatizing U.S. toll roads...

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Feb 19, 2007

DEBATE * USA - Leasing toll roads is the wrong fix for state money woes

By Bill Graves: Former governor of Kansas, is president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations

Salt Lake City,UT,USA -The Salt Lake Tribune -16 Feb 2007: -- I have a photo, from 1956... In those days a toll road was one of very few options available to states to build a freeway. Fifty years later toll roads are surging in popularity, but as a quick fix for state financial woes... With state budget shortfalls and a general unwillingness to raise taxes, state politicians are flocking to private investors for the highway equivalent of the payday loan... It is easy to see why politicians are tempted by this new scheme. The nation's highway system needs to grow and be maintained, but states are facing crushing debt loads. Funds to relieve these problems must come from somewhere... But the United States cannot maintain a national highway network if key segments are leased to the highest bidder. More than money is at stake. Leasing roadways allows states only to postpone, not solve, their budget problems, and without understanding the long-term implications... Privatization is dismantling the nation's interstate highway network. It's happening with the support and encouragement of the U.S. Department of Transportation and, until recently, without congressional review...

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Feb 17, 2007

Privatization * USA - ATA Testifies On NJ to reject it

USA -TTNews -15 Feb 2007: -- ATA and the New Jersey Motor Truck Association (NJMTA) testified before the New Jersey Assembly Transportation and Public Works Committee Thursday on the issue of privatization... Governor John Corzine, in his 2007 State of the State speech, raised the possibility of "monetizing" state assets. Legislation was introduced in early February authorizing the lease of the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway. NJMTA's Executive Director Gail Toth and ATA Senior Vice President Tim Lynch urged Chairman Wisniewski and members of the committee to reject privatization of New Jersey's valuable highway assets and to protect the long-term interests of the public.

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posted by Unknown @ 12:24 PM  0 comments

Feb 14, 2007

* USA - Indiana subsidizing four-wheelers as tolls increase

Ind,USA -Land Line Magazine -Febr 12, 2007: -- As part of a plan to subsidize in-state users of the Indiana Toll Road, the state of Indiana is paying $60 million to the private company that leased the road last year... The state set aside the $60 million fund from the $3.85 billion it received in June 2006 when a Cintra-Macquarie partnership known as ITR Concession Co. assumed operational control of the 157-mile toll road... The original goal of the fund, was to provide a 40-percent discount to Indiana residents for 10 years during a planned schedule of toll increases from $4.65 per car to $8...

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posted by Unknown @ 5:33 PM  0 comments

Feb 5, 2007

One-way Street to Disaster * USA - Leasing or selling toll roads it's

New Jersey,USA -The Home News Tribune -5 Feb 2007: -- Gov. Jon S. Corzine is looking at "monetizing" New Jersey's toll roads. Does selling or leasing our most valuable, efficient, recurring revenue-producing assets make sense? Ridiculous! ... Follow the money. Who really stands to gain from this sort of arrangement? If one does even a cursory investigation, one finds Goldman Sachs is entrenched in these deals throughout the country. Isn't Governor Corzine the former CEO of Goldman Sachs? Bingo!... Does Corzine's former company stand to gain a windfall on the taxpayers' backs?... Don't be fooled into a covert one-shot deal created solely to benefit the governor's Wall Street friends and leave New Jersey without its most valuable assets.

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