The state of Texas has abdicated its responsibility to provide necessary transportation infrastructure in exchange for a vast web of toll roads controlled by a patchwork of powerful, self-interested organizations that often act to the detriment of residents.
That’s our conclusion after reading a yearlong investigation conducted by our newsroom into how Texas built more toll roads than nearly all other states combined over the last two decades, and the alarming consequences for the public.
State leaders, seeking ways to handle an influx of residents without raising taxes, approved policies and laws far too favorable to outside toll operators, paving the way for today’s sprawling toll road network and a host of concerns, the recently published Toll Trap series reveals.
It also documents what many of us have long suspected — unfair pricing, especially during peak driving hours, and overly harsh enforcement practices that take advantage of unsuspecting motorists and that lead to economic segregation.
Some state leaders now rightly regret supporting the policies and laws that drove the toll road construction boom. “We were sold a bill of goods,” state Rep. Ramon Romero, D-Fort Worth, told investigative reporter Yamil Berard. “We were just looking for how to find money. We now know that this was the wrong way to do it.”
If that’s not a compelling argument for reconsideration of those decisions, we don’t know what is.
We support the efforts of state Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, chair of the House Transportation Committee, who earlier this year urged House Speaker Dade Phelan to appoint a group of lawmakers to review the state’s complex toll system and to make recommendations for reforms during the 2025 legislative session. We call on Phelan to grant that request.
Done right, toll roads are a reasonable and smart way to fund roads. Often privatized and built relatively quickly, they’ve allowed communities and even whole regions to handle population growth without burdening taxpayers. North Texas in particular has benefited from these massive projects.
But our newsroom investigation highlighted several disturbing aspects of Texas’ toll road system. For example, some lease agreements between operators and the state have allowed operators to collect tolls for 50 years, netting them excessive profits far beyond their design, construction and maintenance costs.
Toll roads also sometimes engulf whole middle- and low-income neighborhoods, making it difficult for residents who can’t afford them to make their way to free roads, which are then often highly congested, the investigation revealed. And, particularly troubling, toll operators aren’t always required to be transparent with their financial and safety records.
With thousands of motorists driving down more than 800 miles of Texas toll projects every day, and more projects likely on the horizon, too many people are impacted by the concerns revealed in our newsroom investigation. The Legislature must not turn a blind eye to these issues; it’s time to reconsider some of the wrong decisions that created them.
The Dallas Morning News
