[DeTomaso] FW: Car hits 220 MPH on new Texas Hwy

Sun Oct 28 15:26:01 EDT 2012

I have a different take. I think private toll roads are a pretty innovative idea to meet infrastructure needs especially given the bankrupt nature of most all levels of govt. these days. In the case of the Trans Texas Corridor it was way more than turning an existing road into a toll road by adding toll booths. The plan was to build a new high speed limited access 6 lane wide road on the existing 59 right of way. The only resemblance it would have to the existing hwy. was the route. So the way I see it the state wasn't selling Cintra anything; they were allowing them to build a new road and letting them collect tolls in order to recoup their investment and earn a profit. The new toll road is the same deal; it's a new road connecting San Antonio and Austin which should substantially reduce traffic on I-35 which as I understand can become quite a parking lot these days given the growth both cities have experienced lately. Time will tell how well the deal works but I bet the Cintra Zachry JV will do a better job managing the road than any govt. toll road authority.

Gray

-----Original Message-----
From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com [mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com] On Behalf Of Will Kooiman
Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2012 1:48 PM
To: scott black; Jim Gray; michael frazier; pantera list
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] FW: Car hits 220 MPH on new Texas Hwy

I mentioned this thread to my wife and she said, "Isn't that the toll road that Perry sold to Spain?"

Rick Perry pushed very hard for the Trans Texas Corridor.  The idea was to build a road from Mexico to Texarkana to handle the increased Mexican truck traffic from the Free Trade Agreement.

You could argue whether the free trade agreement was a good idea or not, and I certainly have an opinion on that subject, but what most people don't know is the Trans Texas Corridor was an attempt to SELL the road to a Spanish company.  Technically it wasn't selling the road.  Technically it was a 100 year lease.  But if the road "belongs" to the company long after anyone alive today has died, then it has effectively been sold.

Part of the "new" corridor was along the route of existing highways (US 59), so those roads would not be rebuilt.  They would be converted to toll roads.

The agreement included a no-compete clause.  Texas was giving up the right to build competing roads within 5 miles on either side of the new toll road.

If the purpose of the road was really to relieve existing roads from this increased traffic, then there wouldn't be a no-compete, and they wouldn't convert existing roads to toll roads.  You can't relieve roads from traffic if the only thing you build is toll booths.  "Relieving roads from congestion" is political spin doctoring.

The Spanish company was Cintra. There were limits to how fast tolls could be raised, but having seen how the process works, I guarantee you tolls would follow supply and demand.  When it is a profit center, you try to maximize your profits.  It's that simple.

I heard estimates that Cintra was going to pay 1 trillion dollars for the right to collect tolls, and they wouldn't break even for 50 years.  But the second 50 years, they would make a killing.  Of course, they didn't have to wait 50 years to make money.  Once the deal is signed, it is worth the 100 year value.

At any rate, this new toll road is a similar deal.  It is a consortium 65% controlled by Cintra and 35% by Zachry Construction.  The lease is only 50 years this time, but that's still a long time.  Cintra said in 2006 that the toll rate would be 0.125 USD/mile.  It is already up to 0.15 USD/mile for pay-by-TxTag and 0.20 USD/mile for pay-by-mail.

My point is it is a very bad idea to turn infrastructure into a profit center, especially when the profits leave the area.

Red light cameras are also profit centers.  Most are managed by American Traffic Solutions (ATS) out of Phoenix.  I know ATS because they started in the tolling industry.  I have worked closely with them.  They have good solutions, but I know for a fact they are making a killing on these systems.
It is in the billions.  That is billions of dollars leaving the local economies and going into ATS's pockets.  You could argue that they make the intersections safer, but I bet if you ran a before/after study of accidents, there is no measurable difference.

Sorry for the rant.  It just bothers me seeing politicians sell stuff that isn't theirs.

From:  scott black <timepiecepr2 at yahoo.com>
Reply-To:  scott black <timepiecepr2 at yahoo.com>
Date:  Friday, October 26, 2012 8:48 AM
To:  Will Kooiman <will.kooiman at gmail.com>, Jim Gray <grayjim at att.net>, Michael Frazier <red3644 at hotmail.com>, Pantera List <detomaso at realbig.com>
Subject:  Re: [DeTomaso] FW: Car hits 220 MPH on new Texas Hwy

And the publicity stunt worked....

Scott Black
TimePiece Public Relations & Marketing
Marketing Acceleration
www.tprm-usa.com

  From: Will Kooiman <will.kooiman at gmail.com>
 To: Jim Gray <grayjim at att.net>; michael frazier <red3644 at hotmail.com>; pantera list <detomaso at realbig.com>
 Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2012 4:05 PM
 Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] FW: Car hits 220 MPH on new Texas Hwy

Another publicity stunt.  You can't outrun the speed of light.

Most lanes have 2 commands - "trigger" and "save".  The loops in the road tell the equipment how fast the vehicle is traveling, and then it is simple math to determine which frame to "trigger".  Later on, the equipment decides if the vehicle has a valid transponder.  If the vehicle is a "violator", the lane equipment tells the camera to "save" the image for processing.

As long as the equipment is working properly, it will catch vehicles over
1,000 mph.  At that speed, you're flying low, but the loops will probably still read.  It is based on having a large metallic mass near the loops.
The wheels don't have to be touching the road.

Or, they might be using laser triggers, but most authorities use loops cut in the pavement.  They are cheaper and more reliable.

The equipment that reads the transponders was initially rated at something like 35mph.  When the business started moving towards high speed lanes (no gates), everyone had to deal with the speed of the readers.  They get around the limitation by oversampling.  The equipment assigns tolls to vehicles based on the handshake count.  If the loops say that a vehicle is in lane 1 and the handshake count for lane 1 is highest for tag#1, that's who gets the toll - even if the vehicle is really in lane 5, unless the reader in lane 5 has a higher handshake count for tag#1, and then it <should> only be assigned to lane 5, but sometimes it gets assigned twice.
 We solved this by using one controller for lanes 1-5.  Many roads have a different controller for each lane.  Duplicates are thrown out in the back office, including duplicates where it charged the picture and the transponder.  That's why it is important to keep your license plate up to date in your account.

Sorry for rambling.  I'm making up for the quietness on the list.

My point is they knew well before the test that the toll equipment would "catch" the Cadillac.  They are trying to promote the toll road, plus they are emphasizing that you can't get away without paying, even if you go over 200mph.

On 10/25/12 3:36 PM, "Jim Gray" <grayjim at att.net> wrote:

>It just proves my Pantera needs more gears!  Oh, and triple the 
>horsepower.
>
>Jim Gray
>
>
>
>----- Original Message ----
>From: michael frazier <red3644 at hotmail.com>
>To: pantera list <detomaso at realbig.com>
>Sent: Thu, October 25, 2012 2:50:11 PM
>Subject: [DeTomaso] FW: Car hits 220 MPH on new Texas Hwy
>
>
>FWIW...
>Michael
>Gruppo Rompiculi Corsa
>
>
>
>
>
>http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/10/25/car-hits-220-mph-on-new-texas
>-hi
>ghway/?intcmp=features
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>                  
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