Public Information Office 210 S. McDonald Street Suite 626 McKinney, Texas 75069 www.collincountytx.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 27, 2007

Developer proposed to build toll road through Collin County on S.H. 121

(McKinney, TX) – Collin County could receive a portion of $5.06 billion in shared revenues from the expansion and conversion of State Highway 121 into a toll road, according to an announcement today by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and Governor Rick Perry.

Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte SA will be recommended as the toll road Comprehensive Development Agreement (CDA) developer for S.H. 121 in Collin and Denton counties by TxDOT. The Spanish firm would pay $2.1 billion for the rights to operate the toll road for the next 50 years. Revenue from the project would be used to build other transportation projects throughout the four-county Metroplex. Collin County’s share of revenues would come from S.H. 121’s conversion from the county line near the Dallas North Tollway to U.S. Highway 75.

A CDA is a public-private partnership that allows the contracted developer to handle all facets of building, operating and maintaining the toll road.

“At a time when budgets are stretched thin to meet every transportation need in north Texas, this project can be a valuable source of income to help us pay for other projects needed in this county,” said Collin County Commissioner Joe Jaynes, Precinct 3. “This is one of many major arteries that have to be built or expanded to handle the fast-growing transportation needs of this region.”

“After years of preparing for an expanded infrastructure and evaluating all possibilities, this is the best option we have for assuring an adequate transportation system in Collin County,” says Collin County Commissioner Jack Hatchell, Precinct 4.

The company was one of three organizations that placed bids on the project. The Texas Transportation Commission will consider the recommendation by TxDOT at a meeting tomorrow. Proposals were reviewed and scored based on selection criteria set out by the Regional Transportation Council (RTC), the metropolitan planning agency for the Dallas-Fort Worth area. An environmental clearance of the S.H. 121 segment in Collin County also needs to be approved before the project can begin.

“The immediate construction of these roads is critical,” says Collin County Judge Keith Self. “The agreement on this project allows us to do it before we would need to raise taxes or hold a bond election.”

“Traditional funding sources have not kept pace with the growing need for an improved transportation infrastructure,” says Collin County Commissioner Phyllis Cole, Precinct 1. “Outside the box thinking is essential to solve this issue.”

Funding generated from this project would aid Collin County in eliminating bottlenecks on the U.S. 75 corridor; provide assistance for passenger rail between Carrollton and Frisco; and develop S.H. 121 from Frisco to McKinney.

For additional information about today’s announcement, please visit TxDOT’s website, www.dot.state.tx.us.

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