Here’s how transportation projects can help Texans get back to work amid coronavirus
Texas funding for roadway infrastructure comes from the federal government in the form of gasoline taxes and general revenue. State funding is provided through gas tax receipts, vehicle registration fees, and parts of oil and gas severance tax and motor vehicle sales/general sales tax that voters approved.
This model, although not meeting all the transportation needs of Texas’ urban regions, created a feeling of “enough revenue.” It was enough to create a centralized management structure, a standard roadway-only design approach and a fiscally conservative funding method.
In the COVID-19 world, that approach is no longer realistic. The Texas Department of Transportation can adjust to critically needed next steps. We can no longer do what we want; we must do what we need.
We can no longer focus on transportation alone. We are a crucial player in getting people back to work and should embrace a comprehensive, innovative approach to doing so.
Mobilize for job creation
Traffic on Dallas-Fort Worth freeways fell 35% just in March. Therefore, federal gasoline tax revenues are at risk, along with other federal general revenue needed for the COVID-19 response. Strike One. State gasoline receipts would be similarly affected. Strike Two.
Oil and gas severance taxes will drop because of reduced demand and because the price of oil is collapsing to near zero. Strike Three. Sales taxes are at risk as sales of general items and motor vehicles decline due to stay-at-home orders and growing unemployment. Strike Four. With 22 million Americans requesting unemployment assistance in just the first four weeks, and the Texas rainy day fund being used as emergency funding, we no longer have “enough revenue.”
We should remain hopeful, though, because we were asked to do this before. In October 2007, the S&P index 500 was above 1,500, then fell below 700 in March 2009 during the financial crisis. It did not return to 1,500 until March 2013.
Under TxDOT, the transportation infrastructure community across the state became one, delivering a system of improvements by expediting project delivery and advancing innovative funding. With little traditional money, it was the greatest advancement of mega-projects in Dallas-Fort Worth history, creating mobility and jobs.
Lessons from the past
First, the costs of construction will decrease. In 2011, it fell 25% from the 2009 base, a greater reward for near-term construction. Second, the federal government should add Infrastructure to the COVID-19 relief arsenal.
Third, at 0% interest, debt is your friend. Expediting projects now and jump-starting our economy replenishes revenue sources. Fourth, the private sector is your friend, bringing revenue as well.
With infrastructure bonds, can we memorialize our commitment to each other with an outcome-based innovative financial plan?
For Dallas-Fort Worth, it would mean we take a health crisis, focus on need and not want, and build like 2009. Advance high-speed rail from Dallas to Houston and Fort Worth to Dallas. Build a Virgin Hyperloop One Certification Center, autonomous transit vehicles in the Dallas hospital district, at the General Motors assembly plant and the Midtown Development next to the Galleria.
Advance electric-vehicle recharging with induction loops in our freeway pavement. Advance $5 billion in improvements on Interstates 820 and 20 in Tarrant County, State Highway 183 in Dallas County, U.S. Highway 380 in Collin County, and LBJ Freeway to Denton on IH 35E. Extend TEXRail to the Fort Worth Medical District. Advance the new Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport terminal
Our health workers, first responders, transit drivers and grocery employees are not doing what they want to do; they are doing what they need to do. We should do the same with infrastructure.