DALLAS -- The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is expected to call a special meeting next month to consider Gov. David Walters' proposal that the state agency revise its financing proposal for a $347 million, five-year toll road maintenance plan, an official said yesterday.
Turnpike authority spokeswoman Mary Kay Audd said she anticipates that the authority board will schedule a meeting date within the next week to answer the governor's concerns.
The request for a special session came July 21, when Walters presented a letter to turnpike board members suggesting that the agency should consider scrapping plans for issuing debt to pay for short-term maintenance projects and instead consider expanding Oklahoma's 563-mile toll road system.
"Your current proposal to borrow long term in order to meet the $138,648,483 of short-term maintenance seriously jeopardizes the financial strength of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority," Walters wrote in the letter to the state agency.
"I ask that you revise your proposal so that real and necessary maintenance is paid for out of cash flow and that any system expansion or long-term improvements be funded with long-term borrowing," he said.
The letter was the latest development in an ongoing controversy between Walters and the turnpike authority board over expansion and maintenance of the turnpike system in Oklahoma.
Last spring, Walters proposed a $1.6 billion expansion of state toll roads. The program was later scaled back when opposition in the state legislature grew and Walters lost political support when he pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws.
The turnpike authority then proposed a $480 million maintenance plan, largely aimed at improving and expanding the state's oldest and busiest turnpikes. Later, that was reduced to $347 million when plans to expand the Turner and Will Rogers turnpikes to six lanes were dropped.
Several members of the turnpike authority have maintained that the state has to protect its existing investment and should not embark on many new projects.
On the other hand, the governor has said that the state has serious infrastructure problems and needs more new roads to provide key interconnections within the system and a comprehensive toll road network, said Randy Splaingard, the governor's director of communications.
In his letter, Walters said: "My point is this: When areas of Oklahoma are crying out for the most basic of highway services, how can we in good conscience spend hundreds of millions of dollars on items which cannot be classed as critical maintenance."
For example, the governor questioned how critical it was to spend $2 million to add stalls to rest rooms along the turnpikes, instead of adding rest stops, or $10.95 million to fix fences along the Turner and Will Rogers turnpikes, instead of building new ones. He also said $7 million was being allocated for replacing or adding interchange lighting even though there is no evidence of significant traffic accidents.
He suggested that new roads could be built instead, considering the turnpike's strong financial position, which includes cash assets that exceed $244 million and long-term debt of $640.4 million.
"Whether you share my concerns stated above, or not, I hope you can accept that the mission of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is to provide properly maintained highways and to continue to grow and meet the backlog of transportation needs that exist in Oklahoma," Walters wrote.
Turnpike authority members could not be reached for comment yesterday, but Audd said that agency staff is revising the maintenance financing plan to help shift short-term projects, such as road paving, from the bond program.
Under the maintenance financing plan presented at the July 21 meeting, authority officials recommended that $208.7 million of the tab be paid for with cash or cash equivalents and $138.65 million with the sale of long-term bonds.
"They are trying to answer the governor's concerns," Audd said, although she noted that most board members consider maintenance the key issue.
Maintenance projects initially proposed to be paid for by the sale of bonds include several projects on the Will Rogers Turnpike -- $66 million for resurfacing, $69 million for concession areas, $70 million for tourism sites, and $76 million for bridges. Resurfacing on the Turner Turnpike also was suggested.
Overall, the maintenance program calls for refurbishing of pavement, drainage, toll facilities, signs, and other items along more than 400 miles of turnpike.
