Colorado may have private companies take over some of its roads

[marmar]

The same type of deal allowing a private firm to take over maintenance of U.S. 36 and toll collection in the managed lanes on the highway between Denver and Boulder could be struck for other heavily traveled roads in the metro area, state transportation officials say.

The reason is simple, says Don Hunt, who oversees more than 9,000 miles of roadway that need billions in repairs.

"We have no money for capacity improvements," he said. "In 2007, we received $468 million from the state legislature, and this year (fiscal 2012) we got zero." ....................(more)

Read more: Private groups may oversee more local roads - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_23084014/private-groups-may-oversee-more-local-roads#ixzz2RKYzSTCc

[CrispyQ]

1. "But I don't want to pay any taxes."

Whaaaaa!

snip...

Under a 50-year contract with CDOT, Plenary Roads Denver will reconstruct U.S. 36 from 88th Street in Louisville to the Table Mesa park-n-Ride in Boulder. The consortium also will maintain the stretch between Denver and Boulder — including plowing and patching — and collect tolls from the managed lanes.

Does that mean not all lanes are managed by the company?

more...

By privatizing roadways, officials hand over significant control of regional transportation policy to people only accountable to their shareholders, according to a study done in 2009 by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

PIRG also says upfront payments that states receive are often worth far less than the value of future toll revenue from the roads. Analysis of toll roads in Indiana and Chicago found that private investors would recoup their investments in less than 20 years, but since the deals are for 75 and 99 years, respectively, the public got far less for their assets than they are truly worth, PIRG said.

This is not going to work out well for We the People.

[GiveMeFreedom]

2. Tearing down the social network

one public use at a time. Next will be Fire Dept. , then Police, etc.

[RedCappedBandit]

3. Gee, what could go wrong?

[Recursion]

4. Sigh

[hollysmom]

5. Noooooo -0 this is why I disliked Corzine!!

He wanted to sell the turnpike and parkway, like it would be easy to build other free ways in eastern NJ. Just another way to give a gift to someone. They pay a token amount and get to reap a fortune ripping everyone off for ever.

Hate the stupidity of this crap and the stupidity of anyone who really believes this is a solution.

[TheKentuckian]

6. A piece at a time.

This is what fuels the refusal to invest in infrastructure, the real reason. The anti-tax shit is a profitable vehicle to arrive at consuming the commons for profit and in the process setting the relative tab on their own rubes along with the rest of us.

Fees replace taxes and since the fees have to be arguably affordable for most people (even if onerous for many) so the ownership class shifts the weight of the burden and gets the take as well. A new profit center that is too big to fail! YAY!

They have been working this for decades. Soon most of our water distribution and sewer systems will go. Obama has gotten some investment on roads and the grid but we're in maybe a five trillion dollar hole just to get our raggedy shit up to code, never mind the huge needs for modernization and improvement.

The bastards will make hay on all of it if these trends are not reversed. They will suck us dry on pay to play and we'll keep paying the taxes as well.

The stupidity of the country in this area is off the charts. Pretty soon we won't even have a semblance of a country, we'll just be fuel for a global extraction system.