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A Choice To Go Faster
Drive in any major Texas city during morning or afternoon rush hour and you
know the situation: our highways look like parking lots. When it comes to roads,
drivers need a choice to get them out of congestion and gridlock. Reducing
today’s traffic jams is the goal behind a new-to-Texas funding approach for our
overburdened highway system.
TxDOT and local transportation leaders have a solution to get roads
built quicker: a modern network of toll roads and express toll lanes
that can save motorists time.
Pay As You Go
Highways in Texas have traditionally been funded with gas taxes. But state
and federal gas taxes no longer generate enough money to keep up with the costs
of building new roads, upgrading current ones and paying for upkeep of 79,500
miles of state highways.
More Roads, More Choices, More Time
The population in Texas is continuing to grow, and so is the demand for new
and better roads. Gas taxes alone cannot fund all the roads the public wants and
needs. Tolls can supplement highway funds to get a head start on dealing with
traffic congestion. With cash upfront, miles of toll roads can be finished
faster than highways funded simply by gas taxes. Fees that drivers pay to use
toll lanes will repay the money borrowed to build them. Tolling gets roads built
quicker and gets people moving. It also provides motorists more routes and more
time-saving choices.
A Choice of Routes
New toll roads and express toll lanes are under construction or on the
drawing board throughout Texas. Some highways are being built as toll roads from
the start, and others are being expanded by adding new express toll lanes so
that existing roads can carry more traffic. Drivers will soon have the option of
bypassing congestion by using Texas Tollways. And drivers who prefer not to pay
a toll will always have a non-tolled alternative.
The Future: Sooner Is Better Than Later
Toll roads and toll lanes will give drivers a much-needed option to get where
they want to go. With tolling, we can begin to solve our traffic problems now,
without motorists having to pay higher gas taxes.
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