Critics of the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) have been telling Texans for months that the TTC is a bad deal for Texas. Now we learn from a state audit report released last friday, that these critics were telling us the truth.
State auditors examined the contract with Cintra-Zachary, and Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) actions regarding the Trans-Texas Corridor. What they found is not good. The auditors said that TxDOT had underplayed the costs of building the TTC and overplayed the benefits of the TTC to Texas. They also chided TxDOT for refusing to release parts of the contract with Cintra-Zachary in a timely manner.
It seems that the contract guarantees the Spanish company a 12% profit margin and gives Cintra-Zachary control of the TTC for the next 50 years. If the foreign company does not make its 12% profit, then the state of Texas would be responsible for making up the difference. Considering the exorbitant rates it would cost for motorists and truckers to drive on the TTC (up to 45 cents a mile), it is reasonable to believe that few would be able to afford the drive, thus causing Texas taxpayers to make up the difference.
Auditors also addressed the supposed benefits to be derived from the building of the TTC. Texans have been told that the Spanish company would be paying the state of Texas around $3 billion for the right to build this boondoggle. Now we learn from the auditors that if interest rates and inflation are higher than expected, these expenses would be deducted from the $3 billion, perhaps reducing it to NOTHING!
So, TxDOT and TTC supporters want us to let a foreign company build the TTC and own it for at least 50 years. They want Texans to guarantee them a 12% profit for those 50 years. And for all this, Texas will probably receive absolutely nothing. The people who came up with this idea are either complete idiots, or they have been paid off.
Senator Kirk Watson said, "Texas cannot rush into a project that will help define our future when there are so many uncertainties about the present. We must step back, demand answers, and (ensure) the public is protected before the work proceeds on the Trans-Texas Corridor."
I would go further. The TTC is a bad deal for Texas. It should not be built at all.
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