Nov 15, 2006 7:50 pm US/Central
NTTA Approves Tollway Price Increases
by Clif Caldwell
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
If you take the Dallas North Tollway the price of travel will be going up next fall. The governing board voted unanimously Wednesday to increase tolls.
The cost for TollTags will increase from 60-cents to 70-cents. Cash users will pay one dollar instead the current 75-cents.
North Texas Tollway Authority board chairman, Paul Wageman, says there were a variety of issues that prompted the increases.
Wageman says material and labor expenses are increasing, the authority is being pushed into taking on more expensive projects, and they want to push people into using TollTags. According to Wageman the push toward TollTags is why the percentage increase for cash users is so much higher.
The money raised will go for several projects
not attached to the current toll roads.
In the 1990's the NTTA agreed to develop toll roads throughout North Texas, not just in North Dallas and its suburbs. The first project outside of those areas is the Southwest Parkway in Tarrant County. Other projects include the bridge over Lake Lewisville and the eastern extension of the George Bush Tollway.
Predictably, people driving on the tollway, and facing higher tolls, are not pleased with the price increases. Several people complained that the fees are already too high.
CBS 11 News spoke with people in the Frisco area who are captive to tollroads. One man attacked state lawmakers for not better managing money to have funds to build highways.
Tollway officials say they are filling the need for more roads that the state can't afford to build.
The new increases will not impact either the Mountain Creek Lake Bridge or the Addison Airport Tunnel.
The tollway price increases are set to go into effect in September of 2007.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
No. 1 Seed Kansas Falls To Northern Iowa 1 hr 3 mins ago
Baylor Beats Old Dominion 76-68 In 2nd Round 6 mins ago
Stumble It!
Comments