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Tuesday March 6, 2007

Holy guacamole: it looks like they’re serious about building the Port of Miami tunnel. The contract may be awarded as soon as May; the construction could take 35 years. Update: The construction will take an indeterminate amount of time. The company that builds the tunnel will run it and collect tolls for 35 years. Who sets the tolls? (dík, Honzo)

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  1. blah    Tue Mar 6, 10:36 AM #  

    second link doesn’t work…



  2. alesh    Tue Mar 6, 12:19 PM #  

    fixed!



  3. Honza    Tue Mar 6, 05:57 PM #  

    Alesh,

    The contract for the tunnel is structured so that the tunnel builder operates it for 35 years – in other words, they collect the tolls, which pays them for building it (and then some, they hope…). After that, it gets turned over to the city, free & clear. This way it costs the city no money to build it (it only costs the citizens a lot of aggrevation). This is a common way to structure transportation contracts (bridges, highways, rail, etc). I doubt it will take 35 years to build, although the Big Dig, in Boston, provides a sobering example.



  4. Honza    Tue Mar 6, 08:58 PM #  

    To answer your question about the tolls – in general the consortium that builds the project gets to set the tolls (w/ approval of whatever transit authority is in charge). Just like any merchant, they have to try to charge just the right amount, to maximize the # of customers and $ per customer. Of course, that only works if there are alternatives which are cheaper but more time/hassle (ex: surface streets & I-95 (free) vs. the Turnpike ($2, which is not enough IMO because it’s still clogged – raise the rate until traffic moves somoothly!! (wouldn’t you pay a few bucks extra for a guaranteed fast ride?)). In the case of this tunnel, that would be the point at which it’s cheaper to send a container through Port Everglades or the Port of Tampa, because I imagine that once it’s built the trucks will have no option – to access the port, they will have to use the tunnel & pay.



  5. mr. plant man    Tue Mar 6, 10:40 PM #  

    35 years! Oy vey! Thanks for keeping us informed.



  6. alesh    Thu Mar 8, 06:40 AM #  

    Mr Plant~ See my correction; i was WRONG!

    Honza~

    Ah! That was my question — if you charge any substantial amount, you have to make use of the tunnel mandatory for the trucks. But then it seems that “with approval of whatever transit authority” becomes key: WHO gets to set the tolls? If the only actual competition is Port Everglades, shipping could become pretty expensive.

    I believe $1.2 billion is the cost estimate they’re throwing around for the tunnel. There are 12,775 days in 35 years, so $93,933 would need to be collected on the tolls DAILY for the tunnel builder to break even. I have no idea how many trucks pass through PoM daily, and I’m not sure how much gas a full 18-wheeler burns on the 30-mile trip from PE to PoM, but that’s a lot of tolls.