It was the same ol’ song and dance from TxDOT. The “you don’t have to take the toll road” line doesn’t hold water when the non-toll lanes will be frontage road with slower stop and go traffic that a foreign company can manipulate to maximize their profits! They’re taking a FREEway and replacing it with a surface street and expect us to call that “improvements!”
TxDOT admitted:
– They are, in fact, tolling the existing highway we drive on today
– The tolls won’t come off the roads…EVER!
– Both the original plan ($48 million) AND now the toll project ($83 million) are 100% paid for with gas tax money, but we won’t be able to drive on it without paying a toll, too!
– Admitted toll taxes on 281 drivers will fund more toll lanes on 1604 and other highways 281 users may not use
– That HNTB (the company the tolling authority just hired for $6.5 million to engineer toll roads on I-35, Wurzbach, and Bandera Rd) is going to conduct their new environmental assessment…can you say, conflict of interest? It never ends with these people!
A supporter videotaped the whole thing, so we’ll try to get soundbites up so you can see for yourself!