Texas is behind in highway expansion and construction, and an official in the governor’s office says the only way to catch up will be to build tollroads.
The San Antonio Express-News reported Monday that Allan Rutter, transportation director in Gov. George W. Bush’s policy office, told a meeting of the San Antonio Transportation Assn. that tollroads are in the state’s future. Texas is behind in building highways because the expired six-year federal highway funding bill favored the Northeast. In fact, Texas only got 77 cents back for every dollar in gasoline tax it sent to Washington, Rutter said.
Three tollroads may be in the works. A definite tollway will be the planned 90-mile Texas 130, stretching between Georgetown and Interstate 35 and Interstate 10 near Seguin. But construction won’t start before 2005.
Two other possible tollways include the incomplete Texas 151, which starts at U.S. 90 north of Kelly AFB and is projected to stretch to Loop 1604 in West Bexar County. A private 20-mile tollroad called Camino Columbia is planned to connect the Columbia bridge at the Rio Grande north of Laredo to Interstate 35 to allow truckers to avoid congestion at the Laredo bridges. Other tollroads are on the drawing boards in Austin, Forth Worth and Dallas.