The first all-electronic toll road in North Texas is open
The first all-electronic toll road in North Texas is open
It has no tollbooths, but you still pay
7/10/06
By GORDON DICKSON
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Copyright 2006
The first all-electronic toll road in North Texas is open and, although it's not in Tarrant County, many area residents who commute to north Dallas and surrounding suburbia may find it useful.
And everyone gets to use it for free until Sept. 1.
The main lanes of Texas 121 in Denton County were completed last week through Lewisville just north of Grapevine Mills mall, Coppell and Carrollton.
The Texas Department of Transportation is still installing the electronic toll machinery, signs and pavement markings but decided to open the road in segments Thursday and Friday.
Motorists may use it without paying tolls during a two-month "trial period," spokeswoman Angela Loston said.
Even when toll collection starts, there will be no toll plazas. Instead, traffic will travel under gantries equipped with sensors and video cameras.
Motorists will have two choices:
Those with TollTags will be charged on their TollTag accounts the same way they are when they use Dallas-area toll roads, such as the President George Bush Turnpike, operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority. TollTag accounts are usually backed up by a credit card.
As for vehicles without TollTags, license plates will be photographed as the cars pass under the gantries and the owner sent a monthly bill.
But there's a catch: If you go for the license-plate option, you'll be billed about 33 percent more than TollTag users, and you'll also have to pay a $1-a-month statement fee.
The agency hasn't settled on a precise amount for the tolls, but officials believe that it will start in the neighborhood of 13.3 cents per mile -- or about 80 cents for those who travel the entire six miles of the new road (more for those without TollTags). Then, it'll be raised every five years or so, at a rate comparable with the cost of living.
Ultimately, Texas 121 will be extended into Collin County. Motorists will be able to travel the main lanes all the way to McKinney. That'll be a toll road, too, and it'll be all-electronic.
Gordon Dickson, 817-685-3816 gdickson@star-telegram.com
© 2006 Fort Worth Star-Telegram: www.dfw.com
It has no tollbooths, but you still pay
7/10/06
By GORDON DICKSON
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Copyright 2006
The first all-electronic toll road in North Texas is open and, although it's not in Tarrant County, many area residents who commute to north Dallas and surrounding suburbia may find it useful.
And everyone gets to use it for free until Sept. 1.
The main lanes of Texas 121 in Denton County were completed last week through Lewisville just north of Grapevine Mills mall, Coppell and Carrollton.
The Texas Department of Transportation is still installing the electronic toll machinery, signs and pavement markings but decided to open the road in segments Thursday and Friday.
Motorists may use it without paying tolls during a two-month "trial period," spokeswoman Angela Loston said.
Even when toll collection starts, there will be no toll plazas. Instead, traffic will travel under gantries equipped with sensors and video cameras.
Motorists will have two choices:
Those with TollTags will be charged on their TollTag accounts the same way they are when they use Dallas-area toll roads, such as the President George Bush Turnpike, operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority. TollTag accounts are usually backed up by a credit card.
As for vehicles without TollTags, license plates will be photographed as the cars pass under the gantries and the owner sent a monthly bill.
But there's a catch: If you go for the license-plate option, you'll be billed about 33 percent more than TollTag users, and you'll also have to pay a $1-a-month statement fee.
The agency hasn't settled on a precise amount for the tolls, but officials believe that it will start in the neighborhood of 13.3 cents per mile -- or about 80 cents for those who travel the entire six miles of the new road (more for those without TollTags). Then, it'll be raised every five years or so, at a rate comparable with the cost of living.
Ultimately, Texas 121 will be extended into Collin County. Motorists will be able to travel the main lanes all the way to McKinney. That'll be a toll road, too, and it'll be all-electronic.
Gordon Dickson, 817-685-3816 gdickson@star-telegram.com
© 2006 Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Monday, July 10, 2006
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