Harris County Toll Road Authority
The Harris County Toll Road Authority maintains and operates a toll road system in the Houston/Harris County area. Its headquarters are in Houston.
History
HCTRA came into existence in September 1983 when Harris County voters approved a referendum by a 7-3 margin to release up to $900 million in bonds to create two toll roads - the Hardy Toll Road and the Sam Houston Tollway, to improve the regional mobility and reduce traffic congestion in the Greater Houston area, an area known for rapid population growth.The need for a county-run toll road system came from TxDOT's budget shortfall and its inability to authorize funding to upgrade the second loop around the city, Beltway 8, which had been on planning maps since the 1950s. The Texas Turnpike Authority turned down the opportunity to improve the road as well, leaving the county to upgrade the road to freeway standards. However, Harris County could not afford to build and maintain a freeway from its general fund.
Shortly after the referendum, the Commissioners Court created the Toll Road Authority to administer the construction and operation of the new road system. Then-County Judge Jon Lindsay is generally credited with shepherding the referendum from its infancy to its passage, along with the implementation of the plan for the roadway. HCTRA is a part of Harris County's Public Infrastructure Department and is subdivided into a Services and an Operations Division.
While for many years, the Hardy Toll Road never had the traffic that the HCTRA envisioned it would need to turn a profit, the Sam Houston Tollway has more than made up for the lost revenue. The high profit margins on the Sam Houston Tollway allowed the authority to construct its third and fourth toll roads, the Westpark Tollway and Fort Bend Toll Road, both of which opened in 2004. Both of these toll roads have termini in Fort Bend County and are run in conjunction with the Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority. The most recent project of HCTRA is the construction of managed lanes that run along the median of I-10/Katy Freeway between SH 6 and I-610 that opened in April 2009.
Current system
The HCTRA uses their own toll tag called the EZ TAG. The system has been interoperable with the Texas Department of Transportation's TxTag and the North Texas Tollway Authority's TollTag since 2003. Around the 3rd quarter of 2017, the system will be interoperable with the Kansas Turnpike Authority's K-Tag and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority's PikePass.The following toll roads form the current HCTRA system:
Sam Houston Tollway (1982)
The Sam Houston Tollway is the name given to the tolled sections of Beltway 8, the second highway loop around Houston. The first opened section was the Sam Houston Ship Channel Bridge in the east quadrant of the road system. From 1982 to 1994, the bridge, which was originally named in honor of local politician and entrepreneur Jesse H. Jones, was maintained by the Texas Turnpike Authority. As of February 26, 2011, the Sam Houston Tollway is a complete tolled beltway loop around Houston.Hardy Toll Road (1988)
The Hardy Toll Road was constructed to help alleviate traffic off of I-45 North. The route begins at I-610 North between I-45 North and I-69/US 59 North and travels northward parallel to I-45 for after which it merges onto I-45. The toll road also features a spur to George Bush Intercontinental Airport.Westpark Tollway (2004)
The Westpark Tollway is a toll road starting in Uptown Houston and travelling westward parallel to sections of Westpark Drive and FM 1093 and terminating just past the Grand Parkway. It is the first all-electronic toll road in the United States. The Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority operates the western-most of the tollway.Fort Bend Toll Road (2004)
The Fort Bend Toll Road is a tollway that follows the route of the formerly-cancelled State Highway 122. The toll road currently begins with direct connectors at US 90A, just north of the Sam Houston Tollway, and travels southward to its terminus at SH 6. As with the Westpark Tollway, the Fort Bend Toll Road is jointly operated with the FBCTRA.Katy Freeway Managed Lanes (2009)
In 2002, HCTRA entered into an agreement with TxDOT and Harris County for the reconstruction of I-10/Katy Freeway. The toll road authority's portion of the project is a managed lane facility in the center of the reconstructed freeway that is used by METRO and HOV vehicles at no charge and single passenger vehicles for a toll. The four lane roadway, running between I-610/West Loop and SH 6, has been completed. The lanes opened during the second quarter of 2009.Tomball Tollway (2015)
The Tomball Tollway consists of a 7.5-mile segment of three toll lanes in each direction from Spring Cypress Road up to Sentinel Oaks in Pinehurst. Texas State Highway 249 serves as toll-free frontage roads for the Tomball Tollway. Tolling on the Tomball Tollway is all-electronic; an EZ TAG, TollTag or TxTag are required for passage. No cash or pay-by-mail option is available for the Tomball Tollway. Construction of Phase I of the Tomball Tollway between Spring Cypress Road and the north end of the Tomball Bypass began in Fall 2013 and was finished on April 12, 2015. Phase II of the SH 249 project, in partnership with Montgomery County Toll Road Authority, extends the tollway north of the Tomball Bypass to Sentinel Oaks just north of Spring Creek in Montgomery County. From that point, the corridor will extend north to points beyond in Montgomery and Grimes Counties. Construction of Phase II commenced in Spring 2017 and was completed in December 2019.Future projects
Hardy Downtown Connector
This long project will provide a connection between Downtown Houston and the current terminus of the Hardy Toll Road at I-610. Planning for the Hardy Toll Road connection into Downtown Houston was announced in 2000. The project will be completed in two phases. Phase I consists of moving a railroad line, right of way acquisition, and the construction of two overpasses. Phase II will be the construction of 4 toll lanes. Relocation of the rail line is expected to begin Fall of 2012.Hardy Toll Road Interchange at Beltway 8
To relieve congestion on surface streets, direct connectors between Hardy Toll Road and Beltway 8 will be constructed. Currently there is only one direct connector ramp from Beltway 8 East to Hardy Toll Road North. Expected construction start date is unknown.Tomball Tollway direct connectors at SH 99
This project will add a total of four direct connectors: two from northbound Tomball Tollway to east and westbound SH 99, with the other two connecting to southbound Tomball Tollway from east and westbound SH 99. Construction is expected to begin in early 2020 and should last for thirty months.Increased capacity of existing toll roads
Added capacity is planned for the following existing tollway segments:- Sam Houston Tollway Southeast from SH 288 to IH 45 South: Two lanes will be added in each direction with improvements to the mainline toll plaza, and will have reconstructed entrance/exit ramps. Schematic design has been completed, construction is expected to begin in approximately 2 years. As of late 2015 the construction has not commenced since the interchange at SH288 has not been finalized where both TxDOT and HCTRA are finalizing plans for both the tollway upgrade and SH288 managed lanes. The first phase which commenced in 2015 is the construction of new overpasses for the west and eastbound Beltway 8 service lanes over a railroad right of way which parallels Mykawa Road.
- Sam Houston Tollway East from IH 45 South to SH 225: One or two lanes are to be added in each direction with improvements to the mainline toll plaza, and will have reconstructed entrance/exit ramps. Construction for the tollway lanes is expected to begin in 2017.
- Sam Houston Tollway - Ship Channel Bridge from SH 225 to IH 10 East: A second span will be constructed over the Ship Channel with three or four lanes with full shoulders in each direction. Construction is expected to begin in 2018. First phase of the plan involved the conversion of the Ship Channel Bridge toll plazas into electronic toll collection, which was implemented on January 11, 2016.
Fort Bend Parkway/South Post Oak Road Extension