Here’s a tale of two media outlets, both owned by Belo here in Dallas, and their slightly different coverage of the latest Trinity tollroad news.
The Morning News reported last night that the big Trinity news of the day is that the city has updated its construction schedules for the project, with "major components" expected to be completed by 2014 (instead of 2013) and the NTTA saying final approval of the roadway design possible by November 2009. That’s about all the 5-sentence item, credited to both staff reports and Bruce Tomaso, had to say. Another ho-hum day downtown, I guess.
But over on Channel 8, also a Belo property, the story was a little different on the 10 p.m. news I just watched. In that video, reporter Brad Watson says the big Trinity news of the day was that the council’s Trinity River subcommittee was told that changes to the roadway construction requirements by the Army Corps of Engineers would add at least $60 million more to the road’s cost than had been promised just two months ago; also, the additional $60 million didn’t include the projected 10% annual inflation adjustment for the road’s cost, too. Mitch Rasansky was filmed saying not to worry, that’s just the ways these things go; Angela Hunt was interviewed, pointing out that the extra city money for the road means that other roads/road projects will go unfunded.
Someone missed the boat here, that’s for sure.
