Notes

Name: Suman Thapa Magar
UTA ID: 1001643016
POLS -2312-010
Second Critical Essay
Construction of more toll roads in Texas
Toll roads are the outcome of contract outsourcing where a government entity contracts with a private company to build and maintain highways and people using these highways will pay a certain fee to drive on the road. Those fees will help the private companies to repay the cost of building the highway and to maintain routine repairs. Public private partnerships are encouraged to built toll roads as they support the state or country in building desperately needed roads which the state would not afford to build. Further, the acknowledgment in building toll roads will drive the private firms into competition, encouraging them to use new technologies and the desire for profit would reduce the travel rates through these toll routes. In Texas, the transportation expansion had faced increased financial difficulties due to recession. Citizens remained alert by driving less, which led to less consumption of fuels that directly impacted the generation of state revenues. To stabilize this situation, the government encouraged private funding and utilized toll roads to generate revenues. In the future, where fuel-efficient electric and hybrid cars would be favored by the market, the government would not able to generate fuel taxes, making itself financially unstable. The state would have to undergo severe crisis and would not be able to foster the overall infrastructural development of its territory. So, the state must remain alert considering all the foreseen circumstances and act accordingly to address infrastructure needs of the public.
There has been significant rise in population growth along with increased urbanization in Texas. With this, the state’s roads and highways have to face intense stress and the state would be constantly in need of expanding the transportation network. Currently, more than half of state’s roads are in poor conditions and Texas spends most of its transportation budget repairing and maintaining those roads where as construction of new highways and roads are financially discouraged. This will ultimately degrade the economy of the state leading to recession. Texas must come up with an ultimate solution to deal with this reality. One step that the government can take is to encourage the construction of new toll roads. That way, new roads are built to administer the needs of the public and the same time the government can look after the old and damaged roods by renovating and maintaining them. Once the transportation network is expanded and the economic stability is maintained, the government can focus of building and expanding its own network of roads without having to rely on other parties.