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Expressway Authority balks at private toll road proposals

By MIKE BRASSFIELD
Published February 16, 2007

TAMPA - How much are drivers in suburban New Tampa willing to pay to avoid traffic-clogged Bruce B. Downs Boulevard?

A dollar? $2.75? Three bucks?

That ultimately is the question that the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority was considering Thursday as it interviewed two firms bidding to build the long-awaited East-West Road that would connect New Tampa to Interstate 275.

The Expressway Authority is trying to become the first government agency in Florida to hire a private company to build and operate a toll road. The idea is to avoid using public money.

But it's unclear whether the authority will be able to make a deal with either company.

One firm says it will still need millions in public subsidies every year to break even on the road - a potential deal breaker. The other firm is asking for no public money but would charge higher-than-average tolls.

An Expressway Authority review panel expressed concerns about both plans after hearing more about them Thursday. It will recommend one to the agency's board Feb. 26. More negotiations will follow.

One company, the Plenary Group, would start rush-hour tolls at a relatively low $1.50 to get drivers accustomed to using the road, which would only accept SunPass. It would raise that by a quarter a year for the first five years, to $2.75.

"Quite frankly, if we had the political will to charge $2.75 per car, this is a project we'd be willing to do ourselves," said Marty Stone, the agency's planning director.

The other company, Spanish firm OHL, would charge tolls of only 75 cents or $1, but it is asking for $24-million a year in public subsidies over 40 years.

OHL says without a subsidy, it would have to charge a $3 toll on the 3-mile road.

Mike Brassfield can be reached at 813 226-3435 or brassfield@sptimes.com.

[Last modified February 16, 2007, 01:54:44]