AUSTIN -- Once the Manor Expressway is built, drivers will get to avoid a tangle of traffic lights and enjoy easier access from U.S. 290 to U.S. 183;The faster commute won't be free.
It's a road that's already been paid for why start charging people twice, that's what it seems to be to me,” said driver Betty Church.
Tolls for passenger cars start at 50 cents.
It'll cost 50 cents more to use direct connectors from U.S. 290 to U.S. 183.
"it targets the east side of town which is the home of people who are more economically challenged -- it hit's the working class harder than middle class people,” said government watchdog Chuck Young.
Young laid out the usual list of complaints against Central Texas toll roads; he believes the Manor Expressway could be especially expensive.
"It's almost like a triple tax now,” he said, explaining money to build the road in the first place came from traditional sources -- like the gas tax and vehicle registration; tolls paid by drivers will pay for some of the expressway upgrades; others will be paid for from a one-time, government-funded grant, as part of the federal stimulus package.
"Whenever we can jump start a project with some public funding we try to do that because otherwise the project might not get built at all,” said Steve Pustelnyk of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA).
CTRMA data shows the feds are only covering $90 million of the project’s $623 million price tag.
"And even if they gave us enough money to build the entire project, there's still operations costs and maintenance once it opens -- and who's going to pay for those?" Pustelnyk asked.
As the state's maintenance funds disappear over the horizon, it's likely that more and more Texas drivers will have to pay to build and maintain their roads if they want to keep moving.
