Toll Roads Ahead of Schedule, Projections

Austin's new state-run toll roads are a hit, according to numbers released today by transportation officials.

The first six to seven months for SH 45, SH 130 and the Loop 1 MoPac Extension see more cars on those roads than originally forecasted.

"Traffic is actually 60 to 64 percent higher than what we'd even anticipated back in 2002," the state's Phil Russell says.

What that tells state officials and outside experts is that, despite vocal opposition during the planning and construction phase, the toll roads have won over literally thousands of drivers.

"If it's doing better than expected," engineer Jerry Nielsten says, "there has not been a tollway I'm aware of going behind that afterward. Obviously it exhibits its attraction early on, and people respond to that."

Nielsten helped draft the original traffic forecasts for the state five years ago.

Figures also show Tex-Tag sales flying off the charts, with over 250,000 sold over the program's first year. That means roughly three cars out of four in Central Texas have a toll tag.

The statistics released today do not include the 183-A toll road. That highway is administered by the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority and not part of the state-run turnpike system.

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