Should toll roads be banned?

[MrDawn]

Should toll roads be banned? Why or why not?

President Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1944, ushering in a dark, bleak and dreadful future for travel in the United States. However, American bureaucracy ensured that funds for the interstate system would not be allocated until 1956, when the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

With this law, the atrocious and appalling toll road system was put in place in Texas. The first toll road in Texas was opened in 1957. This toll road was between Dallas and Fort Worth and it cost 50 cents to drive from one end to the other. This toll road is now Interstate 30 highway.

Modern toll roads function by taking a picture of your license plate when you enter an entrance ramp to the toll road. The camera identifies the vehicle’s owner and a bill is sent to that person. You can also get a toll tag called TxTag, which makes it cheaper to drive on toll roads.

Operations of the toll roads in Texas are managed by the Texas Department of Transportation or TxDOT, and are further delegated to political subdivisions, or authorities, by region and county. The North Texas Tollway Authority or NTTA, operates all toll roads in the DFW metroplex.

The State of Texas has 25 toll roads. This is more than any other state. One reason for toll roads’ existence is the funds received through government bonds, which are repaid by toll road drivers. These bonds are used to maintain the toll roads and additionally used for road construction. This explains why toll roads exist, but it does not explain the need for them.

https://brookhavencourier.com/108921/opinion/toll-roads-should-be-eliminated/

 

[KO896]

I wonder how many toll roads in the US are actually owned by other countries?

 

[Mike30]

I am not a fan of toll roads. Aren't we paying taxes already for roads when we buy fuel?

 

[PGen98]

Yes. 100%. Toll roads are awful, I understand some are privately funded, but those ones should not be crucial lanes of travel.

 

[Cam]

Yeah, I've never understood the concept. When I drive down to the beach, you either take the toll bridge, or you take a couple side roads and go around it. I've been going down there for 7-8 years now, and I always take the side roads. I've never gone through the toll bridge, ever. It's not that I'm cheap, I just don't want to deal with that process.

I guess the idea is that tourists can pay for the infrastructure, as opposed to the locals, but figure out a better way to do it. If the locals aren't paying for it with their income tax, throw it in my sales tax while I'm down there.

 

[Shavkat]

I can feel you. Even in my country, toll gates ask so much. It is a pain in the neck if we travel to another city.