A group of Senate and House lawmakers is trying to derail an appointed state board that will oversee construction and operation of toll lanes across Tennessee by requiring projects be approved by local governments.
Tennessee’s Republican leaders recently appointed the five-member board that will authorize public-private projects statewide, in addition to the fee structure for tolls, as part of a $3 billion road construction plan. The board’s setup is included in the Tennessee Transportation Modernization Act the legislature approved this year as the state faces $26 billion worth of projects to solve congestion.
The state will hire private contractors under 50-year contracts to construct highways and allow them to charge fees — giving motorists a choice to drive on them — to reap a return on their investment. The state studied Texas’ program in which the LBJ Texpress Lane costs anywhere from $6.22 to $27.20 depending on the time of day and traffic, though critics have said vendors are gouging motorists there.
House Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons and Democratic Sen. Heidi Campbell, both of Nashville, filed the legislation, House Bill 1612, that would give local governing bodies a voice in construction of toll lanes in their counties.
Clemmons said the new state law pushed by Gov. Bill Lee allows the Department of Transportation to designate one or more lanes of any highway in the state as a toll lane with approval of the newly appointed board, even though it has no qualification requirements or local input.
“Most Tennessee families would be shocked to learn that Gov. Lee and the GOP supermajority gave unelected political appointees full discretion to decide whether a private company can charge them a toll to drive on the most heavily used roadways in their town,” Clemmons said in a statement.
Campbell noted in the Democrats’ news release that many communities “don’t want a toll lane in their town” and believe their elected leaders should have a vote on these types of road projects.
Opposition to the law is bipartisan, with Republican Sen. Frank Niceley, of Strawberry Plains, speaking out against it this year. He was among five Republican senators who voted against the bill this year when it passed 26-6. Only two House Republicans, Reps. Bryan Richey, of Maryville, and Todd Warner, of Chapel Hill, voted against the measure as it passed 78-12.
“We don’t owe any money. If we need a road, build it,” Niceley said Tuesday. “I don’t see the purpose in letting these foreign mafias come in here and skim money off of the state for the next 50 years. We’ll never get them paid off.”
During Senate debate this year, Niceley noted international companies are expected to bid on the projects and argued the state shouldn’t do business with firms holding ties to certain governments. He added the could support the Campbell/Clemmons bill if it would slow down toll lanes.
Senate Transportation Chair Becky Massey said Tuesday the bill isn’t needed because the legislature will vote on the list of projects in a three-year plan, and the state will hold public meetings in affected areas to give residents and local leaders input. Massey, a Knoxville Republican, noted the five-member board was spelled out in the legislation, so lawmakers should have known it would be formed.
“Ultimately, the private investor has to decide if the numbers work and the revenue is there and the need is there to make it financially doable, for them to invest close to a billion dollars in a project,” Massey said. “These are investors. They’re not gonna do it just because I think a road needs to go out here on Interstate 40 through Knoxville.”
Republican leaders recently appointed the Transportation Modernization Board’s members:
— Memphis attorney Mike Keeney by Gov. Bill Lee.
— Bristol real estate developer Steve Johnson by House Speaker Cameron Sexton, of Crossville.
— Former Oak Ridge Mayor David Bradshaw by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, the Senate speaker from Oak Ridge.
— Former campaign finance official Fred Decosimo, the governor’s designee.
— Commissioner Butch Eley as chair.
The Department of Transportation is set to unveil a list of toll lane projects for the state’s major urban areas, Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga and Knoxville, in a news conference set for Monday. Rural projects also could be on the work list.
Under the bill passed this year, the state will use $3 billion in Department of Transportation funds for toll lane projects, rural road construction and other road work. State officials sold the plan this year by saying motorists would have a choice whether to drive on the toll lanes.
The road projects won’t be able to solve every road congestion problem, though.
For example, the Nashville-to-Murfreesboro corridor is Tennessee’s most congested stretch of highway. Yet transportation officials told the state Comptroller’s Office that section is “too difficult to complete,” according to a newly released audit.
(READ MORE: Tennessee governor promotes ‘Transportation Modernization Act’ in Chattanooga)
Instead, so-called choice lanes “in certain sections of this route would be better to alleviate congestion and are more feasible to construct,” the audit says.
The transportation commissioner said Tuesday the department has been looking at traffic studies, average daily travel and the potential for revenue from road construction projects.
The state most likely will lay out four projects, one in each major region, that will “limit the amount” the state has to invest, Eley said. Some of those might not have choice or toll lanes, he added.
The second part of the plan is to make major expansion of interstates into suburban and rural areas, Eley said. At least $750 million is to be spent in each region, even though they don’t have equal traffic congestion.
In addition, the Department of Transportation will accelerate the Improve Act approved under former Gov. Bill Haslam with an increase in fuel taxes, as well as expedite safety and bridge improvement projects.
Read more at TennesseeLookout.com.