July 26 2007

STATEMENT REGARDING CONSTRUCTION OF THE CENTRAL TEXAS TURNPIKE PROJECT FROM PHIL RUSSELL, TURNPIKE DIVISION DIRECTOR FOR THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

"Construction of SH 130 on segments 3 and 4 is moving ahead and is on time. The contractor does have resources to complete SH 130 as scheduled; however weather could impact the completion of the remaining 20 miles. Since the current GEC report (as of May 31) was issued, additional rain has occurred in the Austin area and TxDOT staff is currently assessing its impact on the construction schedule.
Already, approximately 44 of the 65-mile Central Texas Turnpike Project are open to traffic, nearly a year ahead of schedule and more than $400 million under budget. Traffic data collected in May show toll transactions are 63 percent ahead of the original 2002 traffic projections. On SH 130, with only 28 miles open, the average weekday toll transactions totaled 33,100, which are 48 percent higher than the 2002 traffic projections."