Tarrant County will improve roads with new bond package. What project comes first?
Tarrant County voters made one thing clear on Tuesday: The area’s roadways need fixing.
They overwhelmingly approved a $400 million bond for transportation projects across the county with 65.7% of voters in favor, unofficial results show.
Officials are already looking toward starting work, though conversations on which projects will be completed first and how much money the county will receive off the bat have yet to be had, county administrator G.K. Maenius said Wednesday. The county won’t have all $400 million in hand at once, he said, and officials have remained firm about not raising taxes.
“We think that the voters had realized that this investment in transportation is going to generate even greater dollars from state and federal funders that will allow us to build the type of roads and the size and length of roads that county residents, both inside and outside the municipalities, need,” Maenius said.
Commissioners decided to spend the money over the course of the next 10 years. The county is still working its 2006 bond package worth $433 million. Maenius was not able to identify specific projects that had not been completed, nor could he identify how much cash was left in the package.
Factors inhibiting the complete expenditure of the 2006 bond include the 2008 recession, COVID-19 pandemic and labor shortages, Maenius said. As the economy has ebbed and flowed, some cities also weren’t able to match funds for projects, he said.
The commissioners may consider using money leftover from 2006 projects to help pay for projects under the 2021 package, Maenius said.
County commissioners have already decided on 33 projects that will get 50% funding from cities. The county had received 196 requests totaling $763 million. The county plans to spend $200 million on the projects.
The lack of funding to meet the high demands, some have said, shows growth is outpacing development across the county. Nearly 40% of the 33 city-county projects are in the northern part of the county, where growth has particularly boomed.
“That’s where the growth is, and that’s where the money’s got to go to improve access for more people because that’s where the people are located,” said Rusty Fuller, president of the North Forth Worth Alliance.
The rest of the bond will be put toward projects spanning more than one jurisdiction ($125 million) and spread out among commissioners for transportation projects in their precinct ($75 million). Maenius said the projects that will be tackled with this funding have yet to be decided.
Even though the county has identified 33 priority projects, they won’t necessarily be completed in the order they were ranked. The start dates depend on funding and whether cities are prepared to fund their half.
