![]() "What'd you think would happen when we paid the roads off?" we asked Sartis. The promise was simple: "When both roads combined have covered their costs, the roads will become free public highways." We found this brochure from the early days of the Toll Road Authority, printed just after we OKed building the West Belt and the Hardy Toll Road. "You feel scammed?" we asked toll road driver David Sartis. Seventy percent of you said OK, but all those cheering people.wonder if they'd be so excited today if they knew they had been scammed? Steve Malouf now pays close to $200 a month in tolls.īecause Steve knows what we found downtown inside a building that looks on the outside like it should be torn down newspaper accounts of the nasty political fight three decades ago over the idea of selling bonds to build toll roads. Of course, maybe that's because the girl band The Bangles were playing a live concert on top of the new highway. It's another morning drive to work, and before this day is over, half a million of you will pay a toll just to get where you need to go.ĭoesn't that make you feel like you want to cheer? Well, we really did cheer when the West Belt Tollway opened in 1989. Now, Mills rarely uses the toll lanes, and only does so with his girlfriend’s car.The next time a politician asks you to vote on something, you might want to get all the fine print in writing. “I’ll never give them my credit card number again,” said Patrick Mills, 56, of Katy, who said he spent months disputing a toll, and months more fighting fees when his credit card expired and HCTRA began counting violations against his account. Persistent billing issues have left many drivers jaded and skeptical of HCTRA doing away with the toll booths. HCTRA loosened the policies when it revised its website in 2016, also changing some of the violation fines that led to complaints from drivers. That meant money could not come later for a prior toll, and anyone who did not pay was in violation. HCTRA, however, was a holdout, as the agency stuck for years to a strict interpretation of its policies that said collection “shall” be made at the time of use. It also is safer to avoid motorists lining up at booths along the roadway, and cheaper for HCTRA to manage money electronically.Īlong toll roads in Austin and Dallas and those managed by the Texas Department of Transportation, drivers receive invoices for tolls in the mail if they lacked a transponder on their vehicles. Most tolling agencies stopped accepting cash on the roadway years ago in an effort to speed up traffic - drivers can travel at highway speeds under transponders that capture tolling data from a tag instead of stopping and paying cash. “We want to meet customers where they are,” he said, noting that a public service campaign of the changes will be likely. Many cash-paying drivers bristle at the agency’s billing practices or lack a credit card.ĭrivers likely will be able to pay for tolls at EZ Tag store locations, Trevino said, and perhaps at other locations such as convenience stores or supermarkets. I-45 NORTH GOING SOUTH: Federal officials halt development on TxDOT’s $7 billion rebuild of I-45ĭropping cash from the road, meanwhile, does not mean drivers will need a credit card on file with HCTRA. “There does need to be a reasonable time period to implement it,” Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle said. Some design changes may be needed to make sure entrance and exits do not cause drivers to jockey for position.Ĭounty officials, who approved the plan, acknowledged the conversion includes time for HCTRA to adjust. “We want to look at what it does to speeds.” “We want to make the transition safely,” Trevino said. Trevino said the agency wants to complete a traffic study. ![]() UPS AND DOWNS: Houston traffic went down last year, but the region ranked worse for congestionįurther study of taking out the toll booths could take months, though Trevino said officials hope to have a plan in place soon of when conversion of the cash lanes to EZ Tag access can begin. HCTRA has spent the past decade luring drivers to EZ Tag and TxTag use and away from cash tolls, as have most toll operators around Texas and the nation. Losing the last few toll booths is unlikely to have a major effect on most drivers. “We want to consider and assess the implications of all-electronic tolling,” he said, noting officials will take it slow in moving cars through payment areas faster. As HCTRA makes the transition and plans the removal of the existing booths, officials are weighing whether booth operators will ever return, toll agency Executive Director Roberto Trevino said. ![]() The toll booths have been vacant for more than 15 months, after HCTRA pulled workers at the start of the pandemic.
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