Skopik’s e-mail said TxDOT funding is so strained that the Interstate 35 widening project for the Waco District, which includes Bell County, may be significantly delayed or even come to an end.
A day after state Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, said there is no need to even slow down the project, Carter’s statement appeared crafted to deflect some of the criticism for the funding crunch from the federal government.
“I am very concerned that TxDOT is talking about stalling this project,” Carter said.
“Transportation infrastructure improvements for Central Texas are one of my highest priorities and I will continue to work with TxDOT to deal with their $1.1 billion accounting error and other funding issues.”
In February, TxDOT officials admitted that agency planners had inadvertently counted $1.1 billion of revenue twice, which caused the agency to commit to more road projects than it could handle.
“That was actually at a time that we were already saying we were short (on funding),” said Ken Roberts, TxDOT spokesman for the Waco District. “That (accounting error) factors in, but we were already saying we were facing a shortfall based on a number of things.”
One such factor is more than $600 million in federal cuts to highway funds in Texas over the past few years. He said that by the end of 2009, TxDOT anticipates those cuts will rise to about $950 million.
State funds have been absorbed more quickly than anticipated because of escalating prices of raw materials used for highway construction, Roberts said.
The average cost of materials used for highway construction, including asphalt, steel, concrete, lumber and diesel has risen 46 percent from January 2004 to January 2008, according to TRIP, a Washington-based group comprised of insurance companies, equipment manufacturers, construction firms and labor unions that depend on highway construction for jobs.
Fraser said Tuesday that TxDOT would soon have bond money to help increase funds.
Those bonds include Proposition 14, which provides $1.5 billion in funding through fiscal ’09, and Proposition 12, approved by voters in 2007, that provides $5 billion in bonds for highways.
“Bonds that have enabling legislation pending will be some help,” Roberts said.
He added, however, that the Waco District is only one of 25 TxDOT districts that will split the funding. And it is projected to take $1.5 billion alone to expand I-35 into three lanes in each direction from Hillsboro to the Williamson-Bell county line.
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