Residents of Fort Worth have a new way to travel between downtown and Alliance Airport after TEXpress opened its third segment of the I-35W expansion project on Tuesday.

Completion of this piece of the North Tarrant Express (NTE) 35W project unveiled toll lanes spanning a 6.7-mile section of I-35W from N. Tarrant Parkway to Eagle Parkway. Drivers can now choose to take the toll lanes north for all 17 miles of the commute between I-30 and Eagle Parkway.

In a news release on June 20, TEXpress divulged that the new segment was finished three months ahead of schedule and cost $1 billion. This portion of the project also included the reconstruction of main lanes and the expansion of frontage roads along the same section of I-35.

TEXpress is managed by its majority stakeholder Cintra, a subsidiary of the Spanish company Ferrovial, on behalf of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).

Ferrovial, with its U.S. headquarters in Austin, has spent over $7 billion on Texas highways. French firm Meridiam and Dutch firm APG are equity partners in TEXpress.

“We are grateful to the Texas Department of Transportation and our other public partners that helped make this project possible,” Cintra CEO Alberto Gonzalez said in the press release. “This is another example of how public administrations and private enterprise can work together to produce transportation solutions that benefit drivers and our communities.”

Both Betsy Price, former mayor of Fort Worth, and Glen Whitley, former Tarrant County judge, spearheaded this project while in office and attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony held on June 21.

“It’s not costing taxpayers a single penny,” Whitley claimed, per Audacy. “If you want to use the roads, you can use them, and if you don’t, you’ve got the free lanes you don’t have to pay for.”

“We think congestion is bad here, but have you tried to drive in Austin or Houston lately?” quipped Price, according to Audacy. “We should thank our lucky stars every day for what we are able to accomplish with public-private partnerships.”

Commuters taking the toll lanes from I-30 to 287 should expect an average cost of $8.70, with some margin for price fluctuations. During heavy traffic, tolls might increase to ensure commuters can maintain speeds of at least 50 miles an hour.

The new highway segment was hailed as a boon for Fort Worth’s AllianceTexas, a hub that houses over 500 companies.

“In moving goods and services, time is money,” explained Russell Laughlin, executive vice president of AllianceTexas’ developer Hillwood, according to Audacy. “Congestion is a huge cost and burden.”

While drivers can enjoy the open TEXpress lanes, construction on a few entrance and exit ramps is expected to continue throughout the summer.

Other efforts to expand major highways and alleviate congestion in the metroplex have recently been announced.

For instance, in May TxDOT revealed plans to widen a 12-mile section of I-30 from Bass Pro Drive in Garland to Ferguson Road in East Dallas, as The Dallas Express reported.