Tag Archives: TXDot

Roger Baker :
TRANSPORTATION | Is widening I-35 Austin’s biggest
boondoggle ever?

It costs too much and does too little. By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | January 14, 2021 AUSTIN — I think I can make the case that widening I-35 through Central Austin is the biggest boondoggle ever, because … Continue reading

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Roger Baker :
METRO | Is TxDOT near the end of the road?

I compare TxDOT to a drunk who has run up a big bar tab and, knowing that he can’t pay, orders another round and prays for a miracle. By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | June 16, 2016 “…income … Continue reading

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Roger Baker :
METRO | Austin transportation follies: $4 billion on IH-35 is a fool’s game

Widening roads in cities like Austin only makes congestion worse as political pressure works against smart transportation planning. By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | March 17, 2016 Don’t get involved in partial problems, but always take flight to … Continue reading

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Roger Baker :
Can Austin survive the current Texas drought? / 2

We look at the water-blind politics of Central Texas growth planning, and the developer-friendly role of regional transportation planning group CAMPO. Water use chart from stateimpact.npr. In the graphic above, one can see a dramatic shift to municipal use as … Continue reading

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Roger Baker : Can TxDOT avoid financial disaster? / 2

Agency in denial: TxDOT and financial reality. Is a change of direction in order? Image from Cypress Creek Mirror. By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | February 1, 2013 “Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.” — Mark Twain … Continue reading

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Roger Baker : Can TxDOT avoid financial disaster?

Warning sign: TxDOT’s funding shortfall is 50 percent of its budget. Maybe TxDOT should heed its own sign. By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | January 24, 2013 “Things can become complicated when you actually try to understand them.” … Continue reading

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Roger Baker : The Texas Road Lobby Meets Peak Oil

Photo by Rupert Ganzer / Flickr.Coming soon:Peak oil, peak driving, peak cars Part IV: The Texas road lobby meets peak oil By Roger Baker / The Rag Blog / July 28, 2011 [This is the fourth and final part of … Continue reading

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Central Texas Roads : Not Enough Money or (Soon) Water

This graphic from the Austin American-Statesman presents an optimistic funding projection.Road Planners face huge budget shortfalls, try to ignore looming water shortages By Roger Baker / The Rag Blog / September 20, 2009 Consider the emerging factors affecting most transportation … Continue reading

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Texas : Transportation Projects in Big Trouble

Moving right along. From Mr. Ed’s Old Car Pictures. “If the physical scientists who warn about limits to growth are right, confronting the global economic meltdown implies far more than merely getting the banks and mortgage lenders back on their … Continue reading

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Roger Baker :
Transportation politics and the Austin road lobby

Part 2: The Austin road lobby: Texas transportation politics, the developers/ and those pesky populist reformers. By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | June 22, 2009 [This is the second part of a series on transportation in Austin. In … Continue reading

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Roger Baker :
Is Austin drowning in traffic growth?

Part 1: Is Austin drowning in ever-increasing traffic? Think again; top road lobby myth debunked! By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | June 8, 2009 [This is the first of a two-part series by the Rag Blog’s Roger Baker … Continue reading

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Roger Baker :
Texas Toll Road 183-A: The economics and the special interests

Shrinking traffic increases could mean bond default problems for US 183-A. By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | February 18, 2009 The road lobby operates as a sort of well-funded shadow government, organized to overcome citizen opposition to unpopular … Continue reading

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