In This Issue

	State to Pay More for Property Acquisitions
	LA Gov. and Senator Oppose Tolls
	Tolls Big Issue Across the Nation
	County Works on Funding Plan for Roads
	Mass-Transit Budgets Strain under High Fuel Prices
	Future Toll Road Showcased in Loop Ceremony
	Romney says No Free Tolls for Turnpike Execs
	Bus Lanes may be put down Las Vegas Strip Median
	One-cent Tax Proposal for I-70

State to Pay More for Property Acquisitions

PITTSBURGH - Many homeowners have been waiting for over a decade to find out if and when the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will need their property to build the last 24 miles of the Southern Beltway and as many miles of the Mon-Fayette Expressway north to Pittsburgh and Monroeville.

While the agency has already secured $300 million for the final design and buying the land, it is still unknown how the commission will raise the $3.5 billion needed to build the roads. Many property owners will find out by the end of the year if they will get offers for their land.

Changes to the state's Eminent Domain Code, effective Sept. 2, will increase owner compensation for being displaced by projects and make it tougher for the government to acquire property for private development. Changes include:

• Supplements paid for differences in mortgage interest rates, closing costs, and comparable replacement housing will be raised from $22,500 to a maximum of $27,000.

• "Re-establishment expenses" for businesses, nonprofit organizations, and farmers will increase from $10,000 to $12,000.

• The highest "reasonable expense" for property owners to hire an appraiser, attorney, and/or engineer will go from $500 to $4,000.

• Business allowances will triple from $1,000-$20,000 to $3,000-$60,000.

The recent Supreme Court ruling launched eminent domain legislation in many states. In most cases the state's ability to procure property for transportation purposes wasn't changed that much. What caught our eye in this story was the situation where homeowners and businesses are in limbo over a corridor's construction or alignment. The protracted planning/environmental process often results in folks not knowing what the final disposition of their properties will be for many years. It is a painful situation that we can't forget. TW

LA Gov. and Senator Oppose Tolls

BATON ROUGE - Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco is adamantly disputing claims made by U.S. Sen. David Vitter that she had made a formal "expression of interest" in pursuing tolls for I-10 and I-12.

Johnny Bradberry, the state Department of Transportation and Development Secretary, sent the request to the Federal Highway Administration on March 7. Bradberry said in a statement released last Thursday that Blanco had not instructed him to toll the roads. However, the DOTD has been working for years to eliminate the $12 billion deficit in highway, bridge, and drainage repairs, and the federal funding is not enough to cover it.

"I owe it to the citizens of this state to aggressively pursue all alternatives to higher gasoline taxes in order to maintain and improve our roads and bridges," Bradberry said. He plans to present a package of financing options to the governor within the next six months that includes higher taxes and a pilot toll proposal.

Vitter said he was concerned about the effect toll roads would have on the state's economy, and that it would be particularly unfair for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Tolls Big Issue Across the Nation

National - Almost fifty percent of the states are currently in the planning stages for new toll roads, according to survey of state transportation officials. As lack of funding and growing congestion is driving the trend, the public's resistance is the reason more toll roads aren't being planned.

"Officials from nearly every state that is not pursuing tolling mentioned some form of public or political opposition to toll roads," according to the survey conducted by the Government Accountability Office.

Indiana recently made the controversial decision to lease its toll road to a private consortium to raise $3.85 billion in transportation funding brought national attention and a lot of local opposition. The state is also seeking permission from the federal government to consider tolling the long-awaited Interstate 69 extension between Indianapolis and Evansville, which could also be privatized.

Tolling has been controversial since it started in the late 1700s. In the 1990s, Congress began lifting the restrictions on toll roads. In 2005, the most recent major transportation act passed, allows various pilot projects to use tolls to manage congestion on existing interstates, or to construct interstates.

Currently, 24 states have toll roads, and seven additional states are considering imposing tolls for the first time. Sixteen states with toll roads are planning new ones as well.

County Works on Funding Plan for Roads

BOLIVIA, N.C. - Brunswick County in North Carolina is working on a list of recommendations for funding roads it hopes to send to the General Assembly next year for approval. The list will include various revenue options and would give voters the final say on the options in a county referendum.

The result could let voters influence how congested Brunswick County roads will become, and offer residents hope that future construction projects may not have to wait for the state's transportation department to find funding.

The state DOT is facing a $30 billion funding shortfall over the next 20 years for building roads statewide. If county funding plan fails, locals along the rapidly-growing N.C. 211 corridor, for example, will have to settle for the planned, three-lane road all agree is insufficient.

Commissioners are planning to involve several local interest groups, such as the Brunswick County Association of Realtors, whose support could be key after legislation for a local referendum on a property transfer fee failed two years ago because of opposition from the state home builder and Realtor associations.

The funding list presented to voters will likely include impact and transfer fees, and higher sales and property taxes. They may be able to choose between just one or a combination of several options.

Mass-Transit Budgets Strain under High Fuel Prices

Penn. - As gas prices reach $3 a gallon following Hurricane Katrina and again this year, motorists across Pennsylvania are parking their cars and turning to mass transit. The increase in ridership is causing a strain on the two midstate mass-transit systems, Capital Area Transit and York County's Rabbittransit, which have experienced double digit increases over the past year. The state's largest systems in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have also seen significant increases in ridership.

But recent the upsurge in riders has created a funding deficit. Philadelphia's SEPTA has predicted a $55 million shortfall, and the Port Authority of Allegheny County is expecting a $31.5 million shortfall in 2007, according to authorities from those systems.

Gov. Ed Rendell used $412 million in federal highway money to bail out mass transit, the majority of which went to SEPTA and the Port Authority, because they were facing fare hikes and service cuts.

The governor plans to follow recommendations made by the Transportation Funding and Reform Commission for a long-term solution to the funding problems.

"One of the dilemmas is that mass transit has been ignored by everyone," said Frank Pinto, vice chairman of CAT's board of directors. "It's been more and more difficult to maintain systems."

While I am not involved daily in the finances of PA's transit systems we do know that the Port Authority and SEPTA bailout of last year mentioned in this article had nothing to do with high gas prices but rather everything to do with a finance structure that doesn't deal with their current operating issues. That said, I find it hard to believe that higher gas prices and increased ridership are the cause of deficits for the two mid-state properties swimming in red ink. If anything, higher ridership means higher fair box revenues which only helps your situation unless you add more rolling stock. TW

Future Toll Road Showcased in Loop Ceremony

Tex. - The Texas Department of Transportation is holding the grand opening ceremonies for Loop 49 on Saturday, which will open to traffic on August 22. All activities for the day are free of charge, which include guest speakers, a parade, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The new section opening stretches from South Broadway Avenue (Texas Highway 69) to five miles west to Texas 155. Tolls will not be charged on the road until later this fall. Construction has not yet begun on the future segments planned for Loop 49.

TxDOT also plans to showcase its "open tolling" concept at the ceremonies, which is used on only one other toll road in the state. An electronic system will be available which will deduct tolls from motorists' accounts who have prepaid tags. Everyone else's license plate will be photographed, and the registered vehicle owner will receive a bill for the toll, plus a surcharge.

Authorities say the open tolling system helps keep toll violators out of the crowded court system.

Romney says No Free Tolls for Turnpike Execs

BOSTON - Governor Mitt Romney is about to take away the privilege of free tolls from executives at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. Romney will take charge of the authority on Wednesday, and the board will vote on a proposal to stop the use of free Fast Lane transponders and tolls for Turnpike management and board members.

Several hundred Turnpike employees may also be using the free toll passes. Romney says Pike executives should have to pay and have the same experience as the public in using the roads and tunnels, according to his spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom. He said the governor does not have a free transponder and pays his own tolls.

However, Fast Lane transponders are used by the State Police cars in which Romney rides for political and official business.

Romney plans to appoint Transportation Secretary John Cogliano as acting chairman of the board, which sets policy for the Turnpike Authority. He has already started searching for a chief executive to run the authority, as well as the Big Dig.

Bus Lanes may be put down Las Vegas Strip Median

LAS VEGAS - A transit plan for Las Vegas could bring bus lanes down the middle of the Strip. Planners in Southern Nevada are thinking about ripping out the median down the middle of Las Vegas Boulevard to put in bus lanes.

The express lanes could be part of the 33-mile transit corridor stretching from North Las Vegas to McCarran International Airport to Henderson, according to the Regional Transportation Commission.

The project could cost up to a billion dollars, and would be happen around 2014. Right now planners are trying to figure out a way to handle over 113-thousand riders each day along the casino corridor without eliminating traffic lanes on the Strip. They say the Las Vegas Monorail has not been very successful.

One-cent Tax Proposal for I-70

Mis. - As the "Improve I-70" plan has been delayed from a funding deficit, the state Senate Transportation Committee chairman has proposed a one-cent tax to solve the problems for both I-70 and I-44. Sen. Bill Stouffer, R-Napton, believes the tax increase could finance the replacement of both roads.

The Senator's plans include widening I-70 to eight lanes, separating cars and trucks, with two lanes for each in both directions. The response to his 10-year plan has been very good so far. The revenue from the tax could amount to $7.3 billion over the 10 years, enough to cover both the I-44 and I-70 projects.

"MoDOT has other immediate priorities," said Bob Brendel, Transportation Department spokesperson. "This project is not on the immediate horizon." Funding is not available because of the Smooth Roads Initiative and the department's requirement to pay back bonds sold in anticipation of Ammendment 3 funding, a ballot initiative to route tax revenue from gas and car sales to the department.

Stouffer hopes to put the initiative on the 2008 or 2009 ballots. Interstates 44 and 70 "are the major arteries of Missouri," Stouffer said. "I'd like to see Missouri become the distribution point of the nation. With two great airports and two rivers, it seems like a major possibility."