BIKE: Classic background on the politics of Texas roads

[Roger Baker]

[Lest we forget who is running this state and why and how:

Here is the first 20% or so of a 08/30/2002 story by Houston C]hronicle 
Reporter R.G. Ratcliffe back when Gov. Perry  was getting the toll road 
thing started. By now the bankers developers, land speculators, road 
contractors and politicians pretty much have the toll road approach 
locked in, politically.]


"Highway Plans Bring Money to Texas Politicians"]


Aug. 30 -- AUSTIN, Texas -- The highways of Texas are built and paved 
in part by paths of gold leading to the Texas Governor's Mansion.

The contractors that built the state's highways and the bond houses 
that finance them are a lucrative source of campaign contributions for 
the politicians who influence where highways go and how much is spent 
to build them.

One such highway led to an Austin news conference Thursday as 
Republican Gov. Rick Perry touted the sale of the first bonds to 
finance texas 130, a toll road that will allow traffic to bypass busy 
Interstate 35 through Austin.

Perry recieved $30,000 from California-based Fluor Corp. and Houston's 
S&B Infrastructure in June, less than a week before they signed a $1.5 
billion state contract to build Texas 130 -- the first leg of Perry's 
Trans-Texas corridor Plan.

Those donations are part of more than $500,000 highway contractors gave 
the governor since Jan 2001, his first full month in office.

His Democratic opponent, Tony Sanchez, is familiar with the other side 
of that relationship: He and his family-owned bank donated $75,000 to 
former Gov. George W. Bush while seeking state approval of a private 
toll road that Sanchez wanted built.

"Better transportation planning, innovative transportation financing -- 
its about more than concrete and construction crews, Perry said 
Thursday as the state closed on more than $2.2 billion in bonds for 
Texas 130 and its feeder highways...