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Additional Proposed Toll Roads Revealed

Mar, 31 2005

Additional Proposed Toll Roads Revealed The future is going to take its toll on San Antonio, literally. (San Antonio, Texas) Bexar County Commissioners have signed off on an ambitious multi year plan to build 90 miles of new toll roads, toll lanes, and toll intersections across the county. In addition to already announced plans to build toll lanes along Loop 1604 across the north side, the long range plan calls for adding toll lanes to Interstate 10 from 1604 to Loop 410 on the northwest side, and along Interstate 35 from 1604 to downtown. The Alamo Regional Mobility Authority will seek initial funding from the Texas Department of Transportation tomorrow to begin the long process of building the first toll road, 1604 west from 281 to 10, and a new tolled 1604-10 interchange, which should be completed by 2009. "Growth is occurring, and if we don't address these issues quickly, the congestion on our highway swill simply worsen, ARMA Chairman Bill Thornton said. "Tolls allow us to construct in five years what otherwise would have taken fifteen to twenty." Commissioner Lyle Larsen said he opposes toll roads and his constituents oppose toll roads, joking that the ARMA logo should be the hand clapsed against the upwardly bent elbow, the universal symbol for 'get lost.' But Larsen said he understands that the state has forced the concept of toll roads on Bexar County by threatening to impose even more tolls. "The state wanted to put tolls on the existing lanes of Loop 1604, something we said we would never do," Larsen said. Thornton said there will never be any toll lanes where there are not parallel free lanes, so essentially what the toll lanes are selling is 'time.' "If you are on your way to work and you started late and you would like to move along quickly and it will cost you fifty cents, we're here to help you," Thornton said. He said the toll for driving on the Bexar County toll roads will be 15 cents a mile, meaning a one way drive across the 22 miles of Loop 1604 from 35 to 10 will cost $3.30. "There will be no toll booths, there will not be an exchange of coins anywhere on our system," Thornton said. He said motorists will have an electronic sticker affixed to their windshield which will automatically register when they have entered or exited the toll lanes. The motorist will receive a monthly bill for too road usage. The first toll road is expected to be completed and open for business in 2009. Posted By: Jim Forsyth