Houston, Texas, In 2002, FHWA approved IH-10 West Corridor (“Katy Freeway” under Houston Quickride program) toll road mechanism under Section 1216(a) of TEA 21. Construction began in 2003 and the facility is scheduled to open to the public in the Spring of 2009. Katy Freeway project, the nation’s first project to build toll lanes to an existing interstate, is also one of the largest transportation projects in Texas history. The Katy Toll Road will be an EZ Tag only facility with a total of 3 tolling locations and the toll lanes will be variably priced to manage congestion and maintain LOS C or better.

Road Pricing Simulations: Traffic, Land Use and Welfare Impacts for Austin, Texas – “This article explores the traffic, land use and welfare impacts of road pricing in the Austin (Texas, USA) region, including the introduction of planned toll roads, bridge tolls, and a downtown cordon toll. Different tolling strategies are examined, including fixed versus variable toll rates. The travel demand model (TDM) incorporates joint mode and time-of-day choice models, as well as multinomial model of destination choice, relying on a full feedback of travel times and costs. Austin-calibrated DRAM-EMPAL models are used to predict future household and job distributions. Results include traffic redistribution over space and time, long-term location choice changes, and traveler welfare implications. While the proposed toll roads to generate revenues and enhance traveler options, their estimated project costs are not estimated to exceeds such benefits. In addition, the bridge tolls are expected to successfully redistribute traffic, while the downtown area appears highly sensitive to cordon tolls.”

Texas Tollways – “Drive in any major Texas city during morning or afternoon rush hour and you know the situation. Our highways are like parking lots. When it comes to roads, drivers need a choice to get them out of congestion and gridlock. The Texas Department of Transportation and local officials argue that they have a solution to get roads built quicker: Texas Tollways, a modern network of toll roads and express toll lanes that can reduce traffic jams and get Texans moving.”

http://www.katyfreeway.org/toll_road.html
http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/03sep/alongroad.htm
http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/tolling_pricing/value_pricing/projtypes/pricednewlanes.htm
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/TEA21/legis.htm
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/TEA21/h240subb.htm#1216

Section 1216(a) of TEA 21