Texas Association of Business

To meet the needs and challenges of a Twenty-First Century Texas, our complete transportation infrastructure must be strengthened. Further development of our roads, bridges, railways and airways depend on a solid plan, built by sound transportation policy.

The Texas economy could not be as successful as it has been without a strong transportation system that provides the movement of goods and services statewide with ease. Unfortunately, even as our state continues its growth, our transportation system is failing to keep up the pace.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that in 2008, ten of the fastest growing cities in the country are right here in Texas. At a population of 23.5 million and growing, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is building new roads to aid the current 80,000 miles of roadways that exist in the state today. However, no economists, scientists or engineers could have anticipated the scale of the boom that Texas is currently experiencing.

TxDOT estimates that in less than 25 years, the Texas population will increase by 12 million people. Total road use is projected to increase by 214 percent, with highway freight traffic estimated to increase by 77 percent.

Increasing our transportation capacity is a tremendous challenge for the state. The process of building a single new road requires a wealth of resources that includes — among other things — time, capital and manpower.

For the future of mobility and continued business growth, TAB supports the following:

Bonds. Support the issuance of bonds, such as Garvee bonds and the Texas Mobility Fund, as funding mechanisms for highway construction.

Design-Build Projects. Support the expansion of opportunities for design build projects.

Improved Highways. Support improved highways, ports of entry and other infrastructures that facilitate trade, tourism and other cross-border traffic between Texas and Mexico.

International Trade Corridor. Support development and funding of international trade corridors to accommodate current and future Texas transportation demands resulting from the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Motor fuel tax limitations. Support limitations on the use of motor fuel taxes, except for the constitutionally-required percentage used to fund our educational system, by reducing diversions to the fullest extent.

Outsourcing State Work. Support opening government monopolies to competition by comparing the cost of projects. If a business in the private sector can do the job better and at a lower cost than the state, then it should be outsourced.

State Engineering Work. Support outsourcing the state’s engineering work to the maximum extent feasible to reduce costs and save taxpayer money.

Toll Roads. Support the construction of toll roads wherever appropriate. Users will directly pay for the new roads, and tolls will be dedicated solely to maintenance and new construction.

Trans-Texas Corridor Plan. Support Trans-Texas-Corridor-like plans consistent with free market principles. These innovative plans will significantly improve opportunities for economic development and job creation in Texas.