Extreme frustration has been reported among drivers due to high toll prices on North Tarrant Express toll lanes.
During rush hour, the North Tarrant Express toll has reached as high as $24, NBC 5 DFW reported.
The toll prices fluctuate to restrict demand and are designed to keep drivers moving at a minimum of 50 miles per hour.
Private companies are collecting the tolls from drivers on the North Tarrant Express, which they contributed 66% of the money to build.
North Tarrant Express runs along Northeast Loop 820, Texas 183, and Texas 121 through North Richland Hills, Hurst, Bedford Euless, Fort Worth, and Irving. The roads are managed by TxDOT.
A portion of Northeast Loop 820 in North Richland Hills has only two free lanes, giving some drivers the impression that the roads are designed to entice them to use the toll lanes.
“I think they purposefully designed it to where you’re going to want to take the toll,” driver Hunter Mixson told NBC 5 DFW.
$20 extra to go 75 mph instead of 45 for a few miles. (I didn’t pay it. The difference was 6 minutes. ) pic.twitter.com/9GopRCC95A
— Bud Kennedy / #ReadLocal (@BudKennedy) October 18, 2022
Toll roads are not all privately owned. The I-30 lanes between Tarrant County and Dallas are state-owned.
Following the first six months of operation, TEXpress roads implement variable congestion-management pricing, which adjusts prices according to traffic flow, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
In response to complaints about the high toll fees, Texas Representative Ramon Romero (D-Fort Worth) spoke out.
“We wanted better highways, better travel times, and in turn what we’ve got is just higher cost for our highways and in a lot of cases the same type of congestion. Why did you enter into this for-profit deal and you did not increase the capacity on any of our general purpose lanes?” he asked, per NBC 5 DFW.
Michael Morris, the transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, says the variable-priced toll roads have helped with congestion amid Texas’ rapid growth in recent years.
“Dallas-Fort Worth is the fourth-largest region in the country, yet our roadway system remains dependable for the region’s 8 million residents. Our dynamically priced managed lanes are one important reason for this. These lanes are variably priced to ensure speeds of at least 50 mph,” Morris told The Dallas Express.
Morris also said that the companies that manage the North Tarrant Express are still required to make improvements.
“In one part of the North Tarrant Express corridor, demand has exceeded expectations, leading to higher tolls. Plans are underway by our private-sector partners to improve this segment at their cost,” Morris said.
The improvements would widen a single toll lane on both sides of the freeway in sections of Irving and Euless and add more freeway lanes from Hwy 161 in Irving to I-35W North Freeway in Fort Worth, per NBC 5 DFW.
Robert Hinkle, a North Tarrant Express spokesman, said that the company plans to start $350 million of work in 2024 and that the TxDOT has yet to approve the larger project of $1.5 billion, per NBC 5 DFW.
A proposal for more managed lanes in DFW has Rep. Romero concerned.
“We should be frustrated. We should demand answers and above all, we should say ‘no mas.’ I’ve had enough. Don’t continue to destroy my highway. Don’t enter into any more of these deals,” Romero said, according to NBC 5 DFW.
The current state policy does not allow for additional managed toll lanes, according to Morris.
By comparison, last September, Houston made a decision to halt price hikes on state-managed toll roads, according to the Houston Chronicle.
