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Why So Many Toll Roads?

Why So Many Toll Roads?

People often want to know why North Texas has so many toll roads.

Simply put, the answer is, “We responded to the call.”

Here’s how it usually happens: Local, county and state leaders want a new road to nurture healthy growth in their communities, but there isn’t enough funding available to begin construction. So, projects are delayed – perhaps by decades.

Leaders then turn to NTTA to move things forward. (Chisholm Trail Parkway and the 360 Tollway are prime examples.)

We’re able to quickly generate construction funding by selling bonds, and the tolls we collect repay those bonds.

Most NTTA roads, even those built by our predecessor, the Texas Turnpike Authority, followed this formula. This includes the Dallas North Tollway, the President George Bush Turnpike and the Chisholm Trail Parkway.

If we had to use traditional funding, drivers would have waited decades to use those roads – if they were even built at all.

The Dallas North Tollway opened in 1968, so you may wonder why tolls haven’t been removed by now.

Keep in mind that the tollway has stretched farther north, mile by mile, through the years. Each of those extensions require funding. Add to that the cost of maintaining (and in some places widening) a 50-year-old highway to meet today’s traffic demands, and the need for tolls becomes apparent.

Hundreds of thousands of drivers use these toll roads every day. They are the backbone of a regional transportation network that connects North Texans with a brighter future.