New projects mean new tolls for Texans and unhappy Houstonians

Drivers wanting to use the new Westpark Tollway will need an EZ Tag transponder, like the one shown on a car windshield Wednesday, April 28, 2004 in Houston, to use the new turnpike when it opens Satdurday, May 1. Drivers won't find a single solitary toll booth on the first fully automated independent tollway built in the United States. Toll plazas are replaced by gantries on the main lanes and selected ramps that automatically read the radio transponder tags on windshields that pass underneath. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

All across Texas, people use toll roads to shave time off their commutes, but how much is this convenience costing them?

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Quite a lot, according to a report from the Texas Tribune.

For instance, one north Texas suburban mom said she pays $200 in toll fees alone per month, the same amount she pays for her son’s day care.

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Originally built as a way to help pay for infrastructure projects and ease traffic congestion, Texans reportedly aren’t happy about the increasing number of toll roads sometimes forcing them to choose between longer wait times in traffic or paying the toll.

To the undoubted relief of stressed out drivers, TxDOT recently announced it is canceling its plans for several new toll projects after backlash from voters, but the ones remaining are still giving some Texans headaches.

Contrary to what people may believe when a new toll road first appears, they won’t become free when construction on the projects they are installed to fund are finished.

Instead, according to the Tribune, those dollars go to maintenance and new projects, which sometimes include new toll roads.

In Houston, toll roads run straight to areas, like George Bush Airport and the Metro Eastwood Transit Center, making them an attractive prospect to those who can afford it.

But, for those who can’t, they’re stuck taking the longer route, and with the widening of I-45 underway, leading to lane closures, traffic is likely only going to get worse.

For people not from the area, Houston’s perpetual construction and sprawling streets can also mean ending up on a toll road without realizing until it’s too late, at which point you’re stuck with paying the fee.

Records show construction projects in the Houston area alone are scheduled to take years and back up traffic.

The state is also reportedly $36.7 billion dollars in debt from financing toll projects, something financial experts agree Texas would probably be forced to contend with if it ever wanted to move away from tolls.

RELATED: Project to Widen the Sam Houston Tollway Over the Ship Channel is Steaming Ahead on Schedule

What do you think?

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