Risky Toll investments will cost Taxpayers EVEN more.

Traditional toll roads are inherently risky investments for taxpayers who ALWAYS bail out the investment firms to protect future bond ratings. Add the new variable, the experiment of privatizing and tolling our public highways here in Texas. Add the secrecy of negotiations of Gov. Perry and his appointees. Add in the local politicians who fear the light being shined on the facts - as they say we don't need independent reviews.

Even traditional toll roads represent a gamble - that the economics of driving will not change. But recently we've seen the cost of gas rising, a continued sluggish economy and now even a reduction of overall miles driven because of these factors.

Local planning boards continue to ignore trends that are developing now and focus on growth trends of the 1990s. The first public highway tolling authority (RMA) in the state, the CTRMA sold it's first bonds for 183A just months ago (before the cost of gas surged). But the 500 page 183A official statement stated the "Traffic and Revenue Report are based on the assumption that motor fuel will remain in adequate Supply and motor fuel prices will not exceed $3.00 per gallon" (over the next 40 years)

In 1997, the Texas Transportation Commission passed Minute Order 107059 approving a private toll road to be financed, constructed, and maintained by Camino Colombia, Inc. in Webb County near Laredo, Texas.The Texas Camino Colombia Toll Road failed and the bondholders foreclosed on their $75 million note. The toll road was sold auction style on the steps of the Webb County Courthouse Annex on January 6, 2004. John Hancock Financial Services Inc. bought back its investment for $12.1 million. And with our tax dollars TxDOT bought it at a premium price of 20 million, while Hancock made an 8 million profit.

The RMA's will tell you that the taxpayer is not responsible for the failed toll road bonds. That might be true theoretically, but the fact is, someone always pays for toll road failures. History shows the special interests gets protected - while the taxpayer takes the hit.

This World Bank Toll Road investment pdf explains:

"Even holding the effects of toll levels constant, traffic volumes are very sensitive to income and economic growth. The failure to recognize this may be one of the main reasons why so many toll road projects have failed or ended in bitter renegotiations.

Many toll road projects in the last decade have dramatically overestimated traffic levels. In some of the Mexican road concessions, traffic volumes were only one-fifth of the forecasted levels. In Hungary, the Ml Motorway attracted only fifty percent of its expected volume in its first year of operation. The Dulles Greenway, outside of Washington, only attracted one-third of its expected daily volume. Even after a toll reduction of forty percent, the Greenway still was only able to achieve two-thirds of its originally forecast volume."