Leveraging Land Development Returns to Finance Transportation Infrastructure Improvements
The United States faces a crisis in transportation finance. Increasing fuel prices coupled with increasing demand for fuel-efficient cars is driving down fuel consumption, and the associated fuel tax revenues. At the same time, the demand for new transportation infrastructure currently outpaces construction, driving up prices for asphalt, concrete, and steel. This combination of declining revenues and higher costs is causing financing shortfalls for new transportation infrastructure and the maintenance of existing infrastructure. As one effort to bridge this gap, Texas House Bill 3588 authorized the creation of Regional Mobility Authorities (RMAs), which have the ability to apply tax-increment finance (TIF) to capture land development returns associated with land development improvements. This research identified the magnitude of property value increases associated with transportation infrastructure improvements, the assessment levels and investment horizon needed to recapture the costs of transportation infrastructure improvements, and how these revenue streams may be further leveraged to support local and regional investments in transportation infrastructure. Using a quasi-experimental design, property values in areas that recently underwent significant transportation infrastructure improvements were compared against nearby control groups. The relative property value increases determine the relative margin of benefit from which TIF revenues may be drawn against the transportation infrastructure capital costs. This study will be used to enhance ongoing efforts at the state level, including a forthcoming professional training course as well as an academic course on public-private partnerships and funding. The course will be offered within Texas A&M University’s Master of Science in Land Development Program and will be offered as a course in Texas A&M’s interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Transportation Planning, developed with University Transportation Center for Mobility™ funding (see Transportation Research Board TRID Accession #01124562 and #01324966 and http://archone.tamu.edu/laup/Programs/CTP_Overview.html).
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Supplemental Notes:
- This research was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
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Corporate Authors:
University Transportation Center for Mobility
Texas Transportation Institute, Texas A&M University System
College Station, TX United States 77843-3135Research and Innovative Technology Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC United States 20590 -
Authors:
- Saginor, Jesse
- Dumbaugh, Eric
- Ellis, David
- Xu, Minjie
- Publication Date: 2011-3
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Web
- Edition: Final Report
- Features: Figures; Maps; Photos; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 73p
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Curricula; Education and training; Financing; Improvements; Infrastructure; Property values; Public private partnerships; Real estate development; Value capture
- Uncontrolled Terms: Transportation infrastructure
- Geographic Terms: Texas
- Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Public Transportation; I10: Economics and Administration;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01340814
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: UTCM 09-13-12
- Contract Numbers: DTRT06-G-0044 (Grant)
- Files: UTC, TRIS, USDOT
- Created Date: May 25 2011 8:34AM