In announcements puzzling Texas legislators, TDOT
Chief Financial Officer James M. Bass says the agency has identified an
additional $2 billion it can devote to major highway projects like expansion of
Interstates 35W in Fort Worth and 35E in Dallas and Denton Counties. State
Representative Joe Pickett of El Paso responded to the recalculation this way: “It
sounds strange to me. I’d like to ask them where they’ve been printing money.”
According to Texas Transportation Commission member
Bill Meadows of Fort Worth, “you effectively earn $2 billion by scrubbiung the
existing system and managing the budget carefully.” TDOT officials say they had underestimated
federal Highway Trust Fund contributions to be received by $750 million, overestimated
current project costs by $650 million, and left untapped $600 million of
borrowing power in the Texas Mobility Fund. Pickett’s reply: “They should be
able to forecast better.”
