Bright Spots in Perry's Road Building Record

For all of his Tea Party bombast, Rick Perry has actually been a pretty good Texas governor. While Perry’s Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) plan flopped (as Tim Mak reports) the Texas governor can still point to his road building record with some pride.

A drive in just about any big Texas city offers proof. Even during rush hour in places like San Antonio and Houston, traffic just isn’t that bad.

The secret lies with locally chartered toll road authorities that exist in every major Texas metropolis and were largely created under Perry's administration. As Perry envisioned with the TTC project, the private sector has played a role. Cintra, the company that would have built the TTC, has built one decent-sized Austin-area road without a dime of public money. It is one of only a handful of enitrely-privately-financed roads in the United States. Even roads with all-or-mostly public financing were generally created under "design-build-operate" arrangements that, when created properly, can save taxpayers money and improve public services.

The bottom line: even though TTC never went anywhere there are plenty of new roads in Texas and Perry can take some credit for them.  They also have had spin off benefits. Most prominently, by opening up new land for development, the new roads have played a role in keeping Texas housing affordable for just about everyone. Today, the typical home in Texas costs less than 3 times the median income; while multiples of 8 or 12 are common in California and New York. The bottom line: Rick Perry may say a few kooky things but, unlike some other Tea Party favorites, he can point to real achievements in governance.