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Resident, lawyer to fight Loop 9

 
July 9th, 2009
 
 
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STAFF REPORT

The Ellis County Press

GLENN HEIGHTS - Maintained lawn. Check. Safe neighborhood. Check. A massive 12-lane toll road?

Amy Self didn’t factor Loop 9 into her plans when she bought it from a local Century 21 Judge Fite agent, but when she closed the deal on her house in Glenn Heights, the project highway of the controversial Trans-Texas Corridor – one of only six highway plans saved from a toll road moratorium bill passed in Austin last year - was planned right for her new front yard.

Self, along with her husband, have retained a Waxahachie defense lawyer to fight what other neighbors and area residents in Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Ovilla, Oak Leaf and southern Dallas County are finding out: that Loop 9 is headed right for them.

The Spanish conglomerate Cintra, has been awarded a contract to collect the tolls of the new Loop 9 toll road that stretches from eastern Dallas County through Midlothian. Cintra also got awarded the contract to take the toll revenue from San Antonio-area highways as part of Gov. Rick Perry’s Trans Texas Corridor system of highways.

Cintra, as part of the contracts, will build the highways.

"I just closed on my first house May 14," Self said. "it is in the direct path of either proposed plans for Loop 9. I have retained an attorney and am looking for anyone to join me who was told, or not told, and bought property in any of the hot zones. I have been told I have an excellent case for fraud but I need others to stand with me."

Self said she’s looking specifically for people who worked with Century 21’s The Michael Group, where she met the Realtor who sold her the property.

"We can share information and help each other," she said. "Please email me and I will respond in a timely manner with all I have learned about the legalities attatched to not only the owners but agents and brokers invovled…Why should our families be ruined? Why [do] they cash checks? Email at tictactaco@yahoo.com."

Proposed in the late 50s, Loop 9 was designed to be a reliever route for Loop 12 and Interstate Highway 20.

The plans call for diesel truck lanes and 12 lanes in all, with few on-ramps and off-ramps.

For more information about Loop 9, visit the state’s Web site at Loop9.org.

Opposition research can be found at StopLoop9.com.
Article Comments:
October 29th, 2009
 Rev. Daniel H. Shaffer, Jr.
 My house is just north of the loop 9 map. Loop 9 would make my property less valuable. I will have stay here and listen to the trucks go by.
July 13th, 2009
 Joey
 PIp, you're either deliberately misinforming readers, or you simply have not done research.

Here's what I found from Toll Road News:

Link: www.tollroadnews.com/node/1639

Are these people just outright lying? Or are you deliberately just trying to misinform people?



Cintra-Zachry propose to build Loop 9 TR south of Dallas TX
Posted on Tue, 2006-09-05 00:14
oldwebsite


NCTCOG map shows L9 in pink except that north of I-20 this is now an NTTA segment of the PGBT

Trans Texas Corridor 35 heavy blue line is likely routing around east of Dallas area
Cintra-Zachry propose building a 71km (44mi) Loop 9 (L9) tollroad (TR) on the southern and southeastern periphery of the Dallas area. Sometimes called the Southern Loop the L9 project is a long planned mostly east-west route which curls northward at its eastern end on I-20 where it would connect to an extension of the NTTA's President George Bush Turnpike (PGBT). At its closest it would be about 40km (25mi) from downtown Dallas. The L9 would be the southern segment of an eventual complete outer loop of the Dallas Ft Worth metro area (2000 pop
The L9 would initially be a 2x2 lane expressway but built within a 122m (400ft) right of way for convenient widening and addition of extra facilities. There has been discussion of special truck lanes in the corridor. A rough estimates of the cost of the basic 2x2 lane expressway is $800m. The project is well into alternatives analysis, public consultation and environmental review under the NEPA process.

Jose Maria Lopez de Fuentes, CEO/President of the Cintra Zachry joint venture told us in a telephone interview that a preliminary look at the data suggest the project can be viable as a self-financing tollroad but that this will have to be firmly established by studies: We believe it can be financed with tolls. It is a candidate within our Trans Texas Corridor 35 (TTC35) agreement with TxDOT as a connector road enhancing the corridor.

It is possible that the TTC35 will run for some distance contiguously with L9 - in its most southeasterly portion. Other parts of the L9 will constitute spurs off the TTC35. Clearly the L9 will complement the TTC35.

Enthusiastic response
Lopez says there has been an enthusiastic response from local officials to the group's proposal for the L9: They have been wanting to build this for some years but there has been no funds to do it.

Lopez said Cintra-Zachry and TxDOT will now work toward a detailed concession agreement for L9 along the lines of the agreement they have reached for Segments 5 and 6 of the TX130 tollroad south of Austin, which is seen as a likely segment of TTC35 along with the TxDOT financed TX130, Segments 1-4.

Lopez told us: If all goes smoothly we could have environmental permits and a detailed agreement ready for signing by 2008 and the road could open by 2011 or 2012... that's if everything goes smoothly.

Gov Perry made announcement
News of the Cintra-Zachry proposal was
July 10th, 2009
 PIp
 If you are reporting information, please make sure its the correct information.

1) Cintra has not been selected to collect tolls on this facility, no information has been released by TxDOT to implicate this.

2) No mention on the Loop 9 public meetings have mentioned truck lanes. It is not on any maps or documents, again another incorrect statement.

The statement of a 12 lane system is very misleading. 6 mainlanes (3 in each direct) is what TxDOT has shown at public meetings. Access roads, where needed (which is not along most of the project) are usually 2 lanes on each side from what has been developed and show to us, the public. Some have 3 in each direct but its only in a very select few places. So while the max will be 12 lanes (mainlanes plus frontage roads), its more 6 to 10 in the majority of the places.

While it is unfortunately that this person bought a home near a potential new roadway, she, as a resonsible person must do her due diligence to research her places. Ignorance of plans and laws (that are readily available to the public) does not except you from making an unintelligent mistake. Try telling a cop you didn't know what the speedlimit is. Its your job, as a citizen to know the laws. This follows the same idea, although century 21 should have disclosed this information to the homebuyers.

As a recently new homeowner myself, I did my due diligence when I moved down south. Guess what? I found out about Loop 9 while doing research for homes in Midlothian as well as other roadway improvements, and I made sure I wasn't near any of them. Why should someone benefit from their lack of ability to be aware of their surroundings and the goings-on in their (new) neighborhood.
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