Harris County Toll Road Authority

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) came into existence when, in September, 1983, Harris County voters approved a referendum by a 7-3 margin to release up to $900 million in bonds to create two tollroads - 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 tollroad system came from the Texas Department of Transportation'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 1950's. 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, prompting the county to authorize a third and fourth toll road, the Westpark Tollway and Fort Bend Toll Road, both of which have termini in Fort Bend County and are run in conjunction with the Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority. HCTRA will also operate toll lanes down the middle of Interstate 10 (Katy Freeway).^[1]