I haven’t read that article yet but what little I know about this just stinks.
The private company funded a third of the highway with the the remaining 2/3s being funded by fed and state taxes
Now an additional $1.7 Billion will be paid for by taxes from what I take from this
Does this actually mean that it wont be 12 dollars one way anymore but 6 dollars or less???
6 dollars plus tax (state tax)
Have any Houston toll roads stopped being one after they were paid for? I seem to remember the original Sam Houston Tollway was touted as toll until it was paid off.
The other toll roads will never be “paid for” and become free, regardless of how much toll money is collected. But they also weren’t funded by TxDOT, so unlike the 288 deal, taxpayers aren’t paying for it twice.
But when you consider that the sweetheart deal was already in place, this buyout probably makes the most sense for the public, despite the high price. It would be cool if the state used some of that cash that’s evidently burning a hole in their pocket to properly fund public schools instead of buying a road, though.
“Toll roads will be free to everyone after they’re paid for, ” one flyer said.
So we just all misunderstood that 
.
Seems clear on the ballot that the wording was that as soon as the bond for individual projects was paid off, then tolls would cease. Of course, who knows how many “new bonds” were approved and taken out. Government accounting seems to say that they will never be paid off, which I have a hard time swallowing.
Old liabilities just replaced with new liabilities