From: WOAI.com
Happy Toll Year
It's official, construction will begin January first on Bexar County's first ever toll road. It will be a stretch of Highway 281 between Loop 1604 and Stone Oak Parkway on the far north side.
The plan is for the two mile stretch to be the first link in a network of toll roads which will include Loop 1604 from Highway 151 all the way to Interstate 35, U.S. 281 from Loop 1604 to the Comal County Line, and, thanks to new action by the Bexar County Regional Mobility Authority, new construction on Bandera Road between Loops 410 and 1604, Interstate 35 between Selma and downtown, and the planned Wurzbach Parkway interchange to US 281.
"We know the traffic times on 35 from the county line to downtown are very long and that area is in significant need of help," RMA Chairman Bill Thornton told 1200 WOAI news.
He said planning the road projects as toll roads will mean they will be able to be construction significantly quicker than the 20 to 30 years which would have been necessary had the area waited for Tex-DOT funding.
Under an agreement with Tex-DOT, the planning and engineering of the roads will be supervised by the RMA.
The decision comes as anti toll groups including the Texas Toll Party claim opposition is growing to tolls. Toll party member Dave Ramos says a rejection of longer terms for RMA members in Tuesday's voting demonstrates the depth of public opposition to toll roads.
The issue of whether tolls will be charged has been decided by the financing of the RMA. The board on Wednesday agreed to accept a $1 million loan from Tex-DOT to pay salaries, expenses, and to provide working capital. The mechanism for repaying the loan calls for it eventually to be repaid with toll revenues.
So how much will the tolls be? Thornton said that hasn't been decided yet. He says either the RMA itself or the private company which will build the roads, with RMA input, will make that final decision.
"The numbers that I've heard discussed have been between 12 and 14 cents a mile," he said.
San Antonio commuters could start paying tolls by 2009. Officials stress that toll lanes will only be built in areas where free lanes are already available. Opponents say those free lanes will be so congested that motorists will be forced onto the toll lanes.
GOOD!
I for one WANT the toll road from 281 & 1604 to the Blanco county line!
I have to drive that every day!!!
what used to be about a 15 minute drive home is now around an hour because of all of the growth and the inception of stoplights at Encino Park, Evans, Stone Oak Pkwy, Bulverde Road and Borgfield Rd.
Ill gladly pay 1.00 a day to get home at a reasonable time!
This is bull... Terry Brecktell or whatever her name is...
Didn't we get rid of her? This so called Agency has NO government powers.
It's all appointed democratic goons ready to slurp up your Tax money and give retailers and home builders a free pass to continue to mow down the north side of Bexar county.
They are rushing it to Jan 1 to beat off any citizen opposition to put this on a ballot.
It's a s bag move... I have to pay 3-4 bucks to this Beeping lady that got fired?
No thank you..
BTW Since there is no ballot there is NO LIMIT on how long this company will bill... IE they will be billing 100 years from now after it's been paid for 10000 times over.
paying money to drive on a road that our tax dollars pay for is beyond stupid.
There will be free lanes and toll lanes with all toll roads built in San Antonio.
I see it as even steven... think of all that gas (and time) wasted sitting in idle, stuck in traffic. If anything this might actually save people some money.
We already pay a lot of taxes for roads. This is just a double dip.
It should be managed by the state so that the tolls are shut after it's paid for. Not sitting there year after year making tons of money.
The money from the tolls (if they're not privatized) would go to future freeyway construction.
IE... The completion of Wurzbach Parkway, funding for Kelly Parkway, Highway 211, etc.
But to my understanding, the expansion of where the toll roads are to be located has already been funded by TXDOT.
Nope.
I believe the strip of toll roads from 281/1604 to Stone Oak will be built by Zachary.
Zachary's proposal was an unsolicited proposal to be funded by Zachary/Cintas (Spanish company) for the full toll pull, not the 281/Borgfield pittance that TXDOT had to put out to full bid. The RMA has no dog in that fight.
Actually, you're right.
The first toll roads (281/Borgfield) were funded a long time ago. To my knowlegde, TxDot has funded nothing else which is why the RMA is building the new toll roads and using the toll money to pay it off to speed up the construction.
Let them pay for there own BEEPing roads... put a toll on that .. not my road.
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