Another toll project might be coming to the DFW area, and this time on an existing interstate! The 28 mile stretch of Interstate 35-E from Dallas to Denton has needed widening for years, however it has been a slow time coming. Plans for the project now go well into 2020, even while Governor 39% pushes for an entirely new highway across the state.
Our Texas Congressional District 26 Representative Michael Burgess held a presser to basically say he is in favor of tolling the interstate to get the project moving. He was backed up by US Deputy Secretary of Transportation Thomas Barrett, and other "local officials" who the newspaper conveniently does not name.
Essentially the project estimate is now $2.9 billion, of which Burgess has only been able to muster up funding for $535 million. So the alleged way around this is to go with the public private investment plan aka toll the shit out of the road. Why raise taxes by 10 cents when you can get more of the drivers who have to go to work every day paying $1, right?
This plan has multiple problems and road blocks. First, there is no allowance for tolling existing highways in Texas. The laws would need to be changed to even do that. Any sane Democrat we elect in 2008 is not going to allow it. Second, there is NO alternative to I-35E for many drivers in Dallas or Denton County. So effectively, tolling any portion of I-35E is a forced tax upon drivers. It won't be a "user fee".
How many more toll projects can one area take? The feds and local officials all know we need more highways and mass transit before 2030 in DFW, but nobody wants to think outside the box. They want to sell off every proposed project to the highest bidder, and constituent be damned. If we can spend $2 billion a day in fucking Iraq, we are pretty sure we could pay to build a highway expansion in Texas! Hold your current officials accountable. Make them get their priorities in order or vote them out.
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