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System > Tollway System
Over the past decade, San Antonio
has boomed, and traffic volumes have increased substantially. At the same time,
funding to build new roads has not been able to keep pace with growth, mostly due to
the effect of inflation on state's static fuel tax, which has not been
adjusted since 1991, improved fuel mileage, which means less taxes paid
per mile driven, and diversions from the state's Highway Fund to pay for
public education and other non-transportation expenses. Additionally, Texas continues to be
shortchanged by the federal government,
receiving only about 90%
of the federal fuel tax revenues it collects, and in the past two years
the feds have twice rescinded
previously allocated funding due to shortfalls in collections due to
their own static gas tax. San Antonio had fared even
worse,
getting back only about 75% of its contributions, although
recent changes to funding formulas have improved that ratio
substantially. Still, a substantial backlog of needed projects
remains from all those years of being shortchanged, and population and
traffic growth continues unabated across the state adding additional
pressures on an already lagging system.
Therefore, to help
expedite the construction of needed roadways, the state encouraged
regional authorities to find local funding mechanisms. To that
end, Bexar County leaders in 2003 created the Alamo Regional Mobility
Authority (ARMA) to develop a tollway system for the San Antonio area.
The idea is to build an initial tollway network, then use the revenue
generated from those tolls as backing for bonds to build additional
roadways (both tolled and free.) TxDOT and ARMA estimate that using this financing method
will allow several roads to be built as many as 24 years ahead of
current schedules and ergo substantially cheaper.
ARMA has identified a number of
feasible tollway projects in Bexar County. An initial
"Starter System" of about 20 miles was originally identified
with additional segments
of Loop 1604 subsequently added. Several
other future projects are currently being investigated. The
map below shows the currently proposed tollway locations in San Antonio.
STARTER SYSTEM
- US 281 North from 1604 to
the Comal County line
- Loop 1604 from
Military Dr. to I-10 East
- Interchanges on Loop
1604 at SH 151, I-10 West, US 281 North, I-35 North, and I-10
East
FUTURE PROPOSED ADDITIONS
- I-35 Loop 410 South to
the Comal County line
- SH 16 (Bandera Rd.) from Loop
410 to Loop 1604
- SH 151 from Loop 1604 to SH
211
- Wurzbach Parkway from
Starcrest Dr. to Blanco Rd.*
- Interchange at Wurzbach
Parkway and US 281*
- I-10 West from Loop
1604 to Boerne
- I-10 East from Loop
410 to SH 130 in Seguin
* Both Wurzbach
Pkwy. options were determined to not be feasible.
Types
of tollways
There are several forms of tollways
being considered:
- Tolled mainlanes
In
this scenario, the mainlanes of the freeway, which would be new, would be tolled, while
the access roads would remain toll free. This type of tollway
is currently being considered for US 281 North, SH 151
from 1604 to 211,
the middle section of the Wurzbach Parkway, and parts of Loop 1604
East and West. It is important to understand that
in every case where this type of tollway is being developed, it is
essentially the exact same proposal as a toll-free version of the
project would be. The only difference is that drivers who
opt to use the new expressway lanes would pay a toll. (It seems
many people cannot wrap their minds around this rather simple fact.)
Animation showing how
toll expressway lanes will be added to an existing divided roadway,
such as US 281 or Loop 1604 West.
For a still shot of the final frame, click
here.
- Tolled managed
lanes
On roads that already have toll-free freeway lanes, those existing mainlanes would remain free, but new
managed express lanes built
in the median of the freeway between the existing lanes would be tolled.
The existing lanes would likely have to be shifted outward slightly
to provide enough room for the new lanes. The new managed lanes
would be barrier-separated and would have limited entry and exit
points to the free lanes. It might be possible for these lanes to also double as HOV and/or bus lanes, known as HOT
(High Occupancy/Toll) lanes. This type of tollway is currently
proposed for Loop 1604 North
between Bandera and Kitty Hawk and is also being investigated for I-35 and
I-10.
Animation showing how tolled
managed lanes
will be added to a typical section of Loop 1604.
For a still shot of the final frame, click
here.
Conceptual example of tolled managed
lanes along Loop 1604
(Courtesy: Alamo Regional Mobility Authority)
- Tolled elevated lanes
A tollway would be built elevated over an existing free roadway.
This type of tollway was proposed for Bandera Road, but recent
reports indicate that it would be unfeasible. Other options
are now being explored for Bandera Rd.
- Tolled interchange
Direct connect ramps between the tollway and an intersecting roadway
are tolled. Tolled interchanges are currently proposed for
Loop 1604 at SH 151,
I-10 West, 281 North,
I-35 North and I-10
East. A tolled interchange at US 281 and Wurzbach Parkway was
studied, but determined to be unfeasible. Other options are
now being studied for that intersection.
The map below shows which type of
tollway is currently being considered for each proposed tollway segment.
Interchanges
One of the more interesting of the
current toll proposals is that for tolled interchanges on Loop 1604 at
SH 151, I-10, US 281, and I-35. In all cases, new tolled direct-connect ramps
would be constructed. The existing ramps and connections would
remain as they are today and would remain toll-free.
Proposed new toll ramps at I-10/Loop 1604 Interchange
This diagram is now obsolete. Instead, all eight direct
connect ramps are now planned, similar to that of the
281 interchange below.
(Courtesy: Alamo Regional Mobility Authority)
Proposed new toll ramps at US 281/Loop 1604 Interchange
(Courtesy: Alamo Regional Mobility Authority)
Tolls & toll collection
 In late 2007, authorities
approved proposed toll rates of 17 cents per mile and 57 cents per tolled
interchange ramp for most passenger vehicles. Larger vehicles
would pay 46 cents per mile and $1.15 per ramp.
All tolls would be collected electronically; there would be no
tollbooths. Motorists using the tollways would be required to have
an electronic transponder ("toll tag") and a corresponding account with
TxTag, the state's toll tag agency. These tags are mounted in the windshield of the vehicle and
contain an identifier code. Tag readers would be
located at strategic locations along the toll system (usually entrance
and exit ramps) and would electronically read and record the identifier codes of tags as they
pass by. The toll would then be charged to the account linked to
the tag where it is deducted from a pre-paid balance in the account. Vehicles using the toll system without toll tags
would be photographed and be billed by mail for the toll amount plus an
additional collection fee.
Toll tags from any Texas toll
agency can be used on any tollway in the state.
Schedule, status, and history
Initially, the plan was that TxDOT would build the Starter
System beginning in late 2005, then transfer operational responsibility to ARMA
when completed around 2009. But in May 2005, Cintra-Zachary, the
private consortium selected to build the first leg of the Trans-Texas
Corridor, made an unsolicited bid to build and operate the San Antonio
tollway starter system. After review, TxDOT decided that the
proposal had enough merit that it would seriously consider it, and in
accordance with state law, accepted other private bids to build
and operate the starter system. According to media reports, the
private bid would allow the project to be built faster and would allow
TxDOT to reallocate the $600 million that it would use to build the
starter system to something else. After a bit of rancorous debate
between TxDOT and ARMA, it was agreed that the
private plans would be evaluated with local input.
After word of the toll
projects became public, a substantial amount of grassroots opposition,
headed by the Texas Toll Party group that has also vehemently opposed Austin
area toll projects, started to form. They showed en masse at an MPO
meeting in mid 2005 and managed to get the Loop 1604 West extension tabled, at least
for the time being. As you might imagine, these events added
some uncertainty to the entire project. However, TxDOT awarded the
construction contract for the US 281 North tollway (Sonterra to Stone
Oak) in September 2005 and preparation work for construction began in December 2005.
The opponents filed a lawsuit shortly thereafter, challenging the project,
arguing that it required a full (and costly) environmental impact
statement (EIS), instead of the numerous environmental assessments (EA) that had
been performed up to that time. Federal law only requires an EIS to be performed
if an EA finds significant impacts, which the EAs for 281 did not.
However, TxDOT and the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA), who
were both named in the suit, jointly agreed in January 2006 to suspend work on
the 281 tollway project as well as the planned 281/Borgfeld overpass so
that a comprehensive and definitive EA for the
entire corridor could be
done and a subsequent determination made of whether a full impact statement would need to
be performed.
In early 2007, the new EA for
281 was released. As with previous assessments, it found no
substantial issues, a so-called "Finding of No Significant Impacts" (FONSI). The FHWA approved the EA on August 14th 2007. TxDOT
announced plans to cancel the original overpass project at Borgfeld and
ARMA indicated it was considering building the entire 281 tollway project from 1604 to Borgfeld
as one project with construction possibly beginning in 2008. More information on the
281 project is available on the
US 281 North Tollway Project page.
ARMA has begun in-depth studies on the
other possible toll
projects on I-35 North, Bandera Road, and Wurzbach Parkway. In
early 2007, ARMA determined that the Wurzbach Pkwy. proposal was not
feasible for tolling but is continuing with an environmental assessment
in conjunction with TxDOT for the missing segment and three proposals for an
interchange at 281. TxDOT also announced in mid-2006 that it was
considering possible toll lanes along I-10 West from Loop
1604 to Boerne and I-10 East from Loop 410 to Seguin. Those would
be additional capacity lanes in the median; the existing lanes would
remain toll-free.
On June 11th, 2007, after a
series of discussions with the Legislature, Governor Perry signed
compromise legislation that put a two-year moratorium on the
construction of privately financed toll roads. The bill included a
number of exceptions, mostly in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston areas,
but the 281 and 1604 toll projects in San Antonio were not exempted.
On June 15th, ARMA voted to assume control of those projects with plans
to publicly fund the projects with bonds and begin construction in mid 2008.
In late June 2007, TxDOT
released the results of the EA for the Loop 1604 tollway and expansion
and showed plans for the proposed improvements. The EA also had
FONSI outcome. Like the 281
EA, it will now be forwarded to the FHWA for review and approval.
If approved, construction could start as early as late 2008 on the $1.8
billion project (although 2009 is probably more realistic.) More information on the
1604 project is available on the
Loop 1604 Tollway Project page.
In December 2007, the MPO
approved the toll rates for the US 281 project. The RMA announced
that they would build the 281 project in two segments: Loop 1604 to
Marshall Rd. and Marshall Rd. to the Comal county line.
Construction on the first segment, from Loop 1604 to Marshall, is
expected to start in mid 2008 with completion in late 2010. The
second segment should be completed in 2012.
In February 2008, toll
opponents once again filed a desperation lawsuit challenging the
environmental study. The impact of that lawsuit is as of yet
unknown.
Additional information
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