Tag Archives: SH 130

Another look at I-35 expansion

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From Slate: Built on top of tree-lined East Avenue, the road opened in 1962, cutting off Black and Mexican-American East Austin from Downtown. Like urban renewal projects in other American cities, the road’s destructive legacy has recently been reconsidered in racial terms. … Continue reading →

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SH130 operator emerges from bankruptcy

Posted on July 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. The firm that oversees a stretch of highway with the country’s fastest speed limit says it is on better financial footing and under new ownership. The SH 130 Concession Company, which operates a 41-mile stretch of the … Continue reading →

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SH 130 operator to give up its ownership stake

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Another step on the road to bankruptcy. SH 130 Concession Co. filed a bankruptcy reorganization plan Friday that proposes transferring company ownership to its largest lenders, which include the Federal Highway Administration and a group of European banks. The company … Continue reading →

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Lone Star Rail reboot: It’s all about the money

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Isn’t it always? The message was clear: If San Antonio-area officials aren’t willing to commit millions of dollars to planning a regional passenger rail line, Austin-area officials will reconsider their financial commitment to the project. The Capital Area and Alamo … Continue reading →

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Lone Star Rail: Not dead yet

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Just a flesh wound, actually. The decision by Union Pacific to end its working relationship with Lone Star Rail District (LSRD) in February, was a blow in efforts to develop a passenger rail line between San Antonio and Austin. But … Continue reading →

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SH 130 operator files for bankruptcy

Posted on March 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Boom. A private company that operates part of the Texas toll road with the highest speed limit in the country filed for bankruptcy Wednesday, fewer than three years after the section of the road it oversees first opened. The SH … Continue reading →

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Lone Star Rail setback

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Bummer. Union Pacific dealt a major blow to a proposal to connect San Antonio and Austin with passenger rail by pulling one of its tracks from a possible plan. UP ended its agreement with the Lone Star Rail District to … Continue reading →

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Why that empty private toll road has been so empty

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Someone did a study to try to answer that question. In the Austin area, more than 220,000 vehicles travel on I-35 on a daily basis. In contrast, SH 130, the tolled bypass around Austin only carries 40,000 vehicles daily. Why … Continue reading →

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On driving the empty private toll road

Posted on February 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Robert Rivard takes a ride on the lonely private toll road SH 130. Let me explain: SH 130, completed in October 2012, runs from an intersection just east of Seguin on I-10 to an intersection just north of Georgetown on … Continue reading →

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SH 130 operator in default

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

But it’s not default-default just yet. Although the company that built and operates the southern leg of the Texas 130 toll road recently managed to work out a payment extension with its lenders, an investor service that monitors the project … Continue reading →

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Company operating SH 130 may default

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. The company behind a privately operated Texas toll road that sports the country’s fastest speed limit is dangerously close to defaulting on its debt, according to a credit rating agency. According to a report released this week by Moody’s … Continue reading →

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Maybe there’s a problem with building roads where there are no drivers

Posted on November 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The high speed toll road keeps having problems relating to not having enough paying customers. SH 130 has not been the immediate success story its backers had hoped. Last week, lower-than-expected traffic revenue prompted credit ratings firm Moody’s Investors Service … Continue reading →

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Building speculative privatized toll roads is risky business

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Just ask the Texas 130 investors. Moody’s Investor Service has downgraded the credit rating of the private company that built and operates the Texas 130 toll road extension, a rating that could continue to drop unless traffic “aggressively” grows on … Continue reading →

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More on that underutilized high speed toll road

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

More toll road travails. Traffic counts on the new section of Texas 130, released Friday by the Texas Department of Transportation based on newspaper open records requests, show that the tollway southeast of Austin in its first couple of months … Continue reading →

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Maybe there are fewer people who want to drive 85 than we thought

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. The privately operated section of the Texas 130 tollway south of Mustang Ridge is attracting about half the predicted traffic, according to Moody’s Investor Service, prompting it to investigate downgrading credit ratings for more than $1.1 billion in debt … Continue reading →

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“Please don’t mow down the wildlife”

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the new 85 MPH toll road is now open, and while it is largely free of traffic, there are other obstacles to watch out for. “That is a known pig route,” said Caldwell County Precinct 1 Constable … Continue reading →

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The 85 MPH toll road is now open

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

So far, it seems like the only people on the newly-opened 85 MPH Texas 130 toll road are reporters writing about what it’s like to legally drive that fast. About an hour after road workers removed the hundreds of bright … Continue reading →

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