What's Happening in Dallas, TX…

Mayor Mike Rawlings announced on November 19 than a panel of six transportation experts and urban planners would convene in Dallas in December to form recommendations for the Trinity River toll road.

While project supporters point to the highway traffic relief the toll road will bring in addition to the lessening of congestion on surface streets in the downtown area of the city, opponents see things differently.

Those opposing the project claim that the $1.5bn project is too expensive and the road’s design is too large, thus having a negative impact on planned recreational areas just beyond the road’s flood walls.

Explaining the pros and cons of the proposed Trinity River toll road, as well as all the variables, is a task likely to fall to brochure printers in the area.

While suggestions of significant changes to the road’s design may appease the toll road’s critics the city may not be able to implement such recommendations. To do otherwise might delay federal approval and recommendations may affect the project’s financing.

Scaling back the toll road’s design could cause revenues to fall short of what is required to fund the road. Moreover, according to the North Texas Tollway Authority, even tolls from the larger design might not be enough to borrow against to finance the project.