Danger Zone!

The mess of 820 from I35 to 183 is a disaster waiting to happen. 

Drive I35, east on 820. If you're feeling really brave, enter 35 at Meacham.  Travel the narrow, winding lane, with no shoulder, and bad striping, next to concrete barriers you could reach out and touch.  Pay attention to all the signs, there's a ton of them telling you the exits are closed, or lanes are, or more are about to be. 

When there is a wreck, how do you think the emergency responders get to you?  Yeah, it ain't easy.  Where do all those people in the two lane holding cell behind you go?  Nowhere.

Which is exactly what happened today in Haltom City.  Luckily there were no fatalities when a truck went off a bridge into the creek bed below.  Traffic was shut down all day.  People were stuck for hours.  (pictures at FWST)

They're going to be stuck for years.  

Guess it's a good thing it wasn't raining.  We've seen what happens to that creek when it rains.  Sometimes, it too, shuts down the freeway.

WHO runs this town?

On I-35, TXDOT doesn't want to move Chesapeake drilling operations, so due to their poor planning, a church, private property owners and the Oakhurst neighborhood will have to pay.

On 820, due to Iron Horse Golf course, there are some frontage road concerns.  There doesn't seem to be many across the freeway where part of the part was taken for the freeway and a pipeline.

Coincidence?

Is it also a coincidence that this park and golf course are submerged under water during heavy rains?  What will come of our new freeway then?

WHO owns the road?

Incoming news from our friends at TexasTURF.org.  If YOU don't know WHO they are, YOU need to.  YOU can't afford not to.  Hurry, before there's no Texas Turf left.

Sell-out: Committees pass bills to allow foreign-owned toll roads & the sale of other infrastructure to private corporations-- including WATER supply facilities, ports, public buildings, & hospitals, using public private partnerships (PPPs)

House passes eminent domain bill, SB 18, with few changes
-- Doesn't prevent eminent domain for private gain in the name of a "public use," like foreign-owned toll roads.

HB 2255 & HB 2432 UNLEASH public private partnerships (PPPs) across Texas

PPPs are kept SECRET from the public, eliminate competitive bidding, put the taxpayers on the hook for losses, grant monopolies over public infrastructure & charge user fees for public access. In the case of roads, they contain non-competes that prohibit or penalize the expansion of free roads & the published toll rates are 75-80 cents per mile, like adding $15 to EVERY gallon of gas you buy!

HB 2255 (Phillips) - Passed out of Committee Wednesday, despite substantial public opposition and objections by Rep. Yvonne Davis about the lack of competitive bidding, read about the drama here. This bill would sell-off portions of SEVEN Texas highways (Grand Pkwy around Houston, I-35E in DFW, two segments of 183 in DFW, I-35W & I-820 in DFW, and SH 249 in Harris and Montgomery counties) to foreign corporations in SWEETHEART DEALS.

HB 2432 (J. Davis) - Passed out of Committee, also in spite of public opposition by 7 different groups. This bill is being pushed by Balfour Beatty, a British infrastructure firm, and it applies to virtually EVERY other kind of infrastructure aside from roads like: WATER supply facilities, hospitals, mass transit, ports, public bldgs for up to 100 YEARS! Who does this bill benefit? Lobbyists from foreign countries seeking to takeover our infrastructure, not Texans!

Go here to learn more and to help!

Pie in the Sky

Oh wait, no that's not right.

Read the Fort Worth Star-Telegram article,  Elevated lanes no longer part of Airport Freeway expansion plan.

We have a question, if you cover more ground in an area that floods with concrete, what do YOU think will happen when it rains?

The behind-the-scenes decision has been months in the making.

North Tarrant Express is a massive project that will rebuild the existing lanes of Northeast Loop 820 in Haltom City and North Richland Hills, as well as Texas 121/183 -- aka Airport Freeway -- in Bedford, Euless and Hurst. New ramps and frontage roads will also be built.

The developer arranges much of the financing for the project and also retains the right to collect tolls on the managed lanes for 52 years.

The expanded highway will fit within the existing right of way, NTE spokesman Robert Hinkle said. A recent decision to remove dozens of trees in nearby neighborhoods had nothing to do with the change, he said.

Elevated lanes also are a safety concern during the winter, she noted.