Harris County Toll Road Authority

A local government created by a referendum approver by the voters of Harris County.

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HCTRA came into existence in September 1983 when Harris County voters approved a referendum by a 7-3 margin to release up to $900 million in bonds to create two toll roads - 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 toll road system came from TxDOT'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 1950s. 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 was 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. The high profit margins on the Sam Houston Tollway allowed the authority to construct its third and fourth toll roads, the Westpark Tollway and Fort Bend Toll Road, both of which opened in 2004. Both of these toll roads have termini in Fort Bend County and are run in conjunction with the Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority. HCTRA also operates managed lanes that run along the median of I-10/Katy Freeway between SH 6 and I-610 that opened in April 2009.[2] The most recent project of HCTRA is the Tomball Tollway, which was completed in phases between 2015 and 2019.

On March 1, 2020, operations of the Lynchburg Ferry and the Washburn Tunnel were transferred from Harris County Precinct 2 to the Harris County Toll Road Authority.[3] There are no plans for HCTRA to implement tolls either the Lynchburg Ferry or the Washburn Tunnel. Nevertheless, HCTRA's involvement will include plans to improve the operations of both facilities, as well as much-needed repairs and upgrades.