10.04.07
Welcome To The Fight Corpus Christi
Crosstown Expressway may soon see toll road.
Plans are in the works to take Crosstown Extension further south, but drivers will have to pay to use it. Texas Department of Transportation officials showed plans for a new toll road to the public Tuesday night.
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Drivers who don’t want to pay the toll will have to get off on frontage road to travel for free. From SPID to Saratoga, an additional inside lane would also be added for toll paying customers.
Wednesday night, TxDOT officials met one-on-one to clear up any confusion and answer questions.“I think it’s great,” Toni Galloway said. “I think it’s a good way to move the traffic.”
Others were in favor of expansion.
“I think we need better infrastructure, and if toll is the proper method to finance it, then I’m all for it,” Bill Brown said.
TxDOT officials said that in order to come up with the $70 million it will take to complete the project, a toll road is necessary. Not everyone plans on paying to use the pricier pavement.
“I’m not opposed to tolls,” Scott Downey said. “I probably wouldn’t pay it. I’d probably just stay on the feeder road.”
It’s a decision we’ll all have to make if we get to that road. A toll amount has not been discussed yet. TxDOT officials said they are still crunching the numbers, but if the plan moves forward and the funding is there, they said construction could get underway in three years.
I’m positive that everyone in and around Corpus Christi is not that naive and trusting of their local officials. If you live in and around Corpus Christi and need to get up to speed, shall we say, on toll issues just search this blog, go to The Muckraker or McBlogger and you’ll have all the information you need. And make sure that toll/mile charge is etched in stone before inking a deal.
Simply stated raising and indexing the gas tax statewide is a much fairer and cheaper way to build roads in our state. Don’t wait, start now, the sooner it’s made clear to your local elected officials that tolls are not the answer and that they will pay at the voting booth, the better off you’ll be. Welcome to the fight.