Hidalgo County, Tex., Agency Picks Contractor for $600M Loop Road

DALLAS — The Hidalgo County Regional Mobility Authority has chosen its first construction contractor for the $600 million Hidalgo County loop road that will encircle the rapidly growing county in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Pate Engineers was chosen over Dannenbaum Engineering, with the authority’s board citing their preference for Pate’s building plan. Dannenbaum, a major construction firm in the Valley, is embroiled in legal issues in Brownsville and several hundred miles up river in El Paso. Both companies are based in Houston.Although a contract has yet to be signed, Pate will design and develop the 40- to 50-mile southern leg of the loop.Construction of the first phase of the loop is expected to begin in 18 months to two years and be completed by 2012. Initially, the road will be two lanes, but will be designed to expand with the growing traffic loads.The Regional Mobility Authority, made up of local government representatives from the area, will consider financing plans, including possible tolling.“It’s kind of a stew of financing applications,” RMA chairman Dennis Burleson said. Bonds will be backed by a new $10 vehicle registration fee authorized in certain Texas counties by the recently concluded state Legislature.Burleson said the board preferred Pate’s “vision” for the build-out of the region’s transportation system.“I think the board felt that Pate had a clearer financial picture,” Burleson said.Dannenbaum, a major engineering firm throughout Texas, sought to overcome legal entanglements in Brownsville on the southern tip of Texas and El Paso on the western tip of the state.“They were a distraction,” Burleson said. “But in the end, I think the board was satisfied with their answers.”In El Paso, Dannenbaum is mentioned in a federal court document used in the conviction of John Travis Ketner, former chief of staff to County Judge Anthony Cobos. Ketner, who pleaded guilty to fraud charges involving attempts to bribe public officials, was alleged to have sought payoffs from county vendors for contracts. One of the vendors, Dannenbaum Engineering, was represented by Arturo “Tury” Duran, according to the information. Duran, identified as a “bagman” for his clients, is a board member of the El Paso County Hospital Board and was appointed by President Bush as head of the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission.The court document alleges that Duran sought favorable votes in exchange for campaign contributions, but his attorney Luis Aguilar says that Duran’s clients were not even awarded contracts. Any campaign contributions or discussions on Duran’s part were legal, Aguilar said.Dannenbaum chairman Jim Dannenbaum has said his company is innocent of wrongdoing in the case.“We certainly have not and never would employ someone to be a 'bag man,’ ” Dannenbaum told the McAllen Monitor last week. “It hasn’t come up anywhere else. Most people who know us and know our reputation for professionalism and engineering excellence and integrity, don’t even ask.” Dannenbaum has also denied wrongdoing in the construction of an international bridge over the Rio Grande in Brownsville. No bridge has been built, despite $21.4 million that the Brownsville Navigation District spent toward its construction. District attorney Armando Villalobos and the Texas Rangers are investigating that case. Dannenbaum has said that neither he nor any member of his firm has been subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury investigating the bridge financing.