VARIABLE TOLLS Houston Westpark pike most profitable V-priced

Revenues will be maximized by varying tolls by time of day, according to a preliminary feasibility study for the Westpark Toll Road, a proposed new pike in Houston TX. The Wilbur Smith Associates report for the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) finds revenues will be 8% higher with electronic tolls of 11c/km (18c/mi) peak period, peak direction, 6c/km (10c/mi) most other times and 4c/km (7c/mi) at night than if a flat rate toll is charged with 50c barrier and 25c ramp plazas.

Variable electronic tolls (ET) will attract 16 to 25% more traffic, according to the modeling, based on the greater ability of such tolling to match the varying value of time-savings offered by the toll road. Off-peak and short trips in particular increase.

“What this indicates is that congestion pricing would make more efficient use of the toll road” says the report.(pii)

The Westpark pike is a proposed new radial heading west just south of the classy Galleria commercial center near the interchange of the I-610 West Loop and US-59. It is to extend for 23km (14.3mi) along the right-of-way of an SP rail line (to be removed) as far as the outer arterial TX-6. The pike would cross the western leg of the Sam Houston Tollway (Beltway TX-8) about 8.5km (5mi) before its initial western terminus. Its main competition would be surface arterials especially the wellknown Westheimer Road which is located just 2km to 3km (c1.5mi) to the north. Another route 5km (3mi) north is I-10, the Katy Fwy.

The pike is being pushed by business and other local groups in west Houston and by the Harris Co chief exec (known in TX as a Judge - see end) Robert Eckels. The right-of-way however is owned by the Houston Metro and it has plans of its own for a single lane reversible grade separated busway in the corridor. At first Texas DOT, which builds area freeways, opposed direct connections for the proposed Westpark pike into US-59 and I-610 at its eastern end. Wilbur Smith modeled it without those connections — as a two-way feeder straddling the toll authority’s Sam Houston Twy (TX-8) and a direct connection to the Galleria area, rather than an integral part of the area’s motorway system. Turner Collie & Braden, consultants to the HCTRA say that the revenue in the constrained WSA analysis is only adequate to finance about half the $270m cost of the road. Projected revenues are $17.4m in the second full year of operation rising gently to $21m in ‘10 to $24m in ‘20.

Max traffic at center

Maximum traffic volumes are modeled in the central section of the project — on either side of the Sam Houston Twy (TX-8) — with traffic petering out at the eastern end because of the lack of US-59 and I-610 connections. Especially in the ET modeled version a large number of short trips are forecast, and with the assumption of no minimum and a strict prorata or per km charge, these work out as dime tolls, where conventional ramp plazas would collect quarters. For example the Sam Houston Twy-to-Gessner jog of 1.5km at the morning toll rate of 11c/km costs less than 17c and other times only 9c, whereas if equipped with a ramp plaza it would charge 25c all the time. WSA say that in practice a minimum toll would probably be charged to cover the transaction costs and extract more revenue form these short trips.

Travel time savings look quite impressive on typical journeys — see chart showing time savings of 40% or 11mins midday and up to 56% or 23mins in the peak, for the 22km (14mi) journey from Westheimer and TX-6 at the west end to the Texas Medical Center just inside I-610. The table shows using the Katy (I-10) Fwy is longest and slowest.

Eckels Interview

In an interview the county’s chief exec Robert Eckels told us the project is looking stronger now than when WSA modeled traffic and revenue. He said TXDOT has withdrawn its objections to the Westpark’s connections into the area freeway network at the eastern end.

“They acknowledge that the traffic is going to get into the system one way or another and that they might as well let us build good connections. They think they’ve worked out a way to hook us into US-59, so it should work better than the way we asked the consultants to model it.”

Eckels also told us that the Metro transit organization realizes it may be able to get a better deal for its buses by collaborating with a toll road rather than by proceeding with its own exclusive bus lane. Various kinds of bus priority access and free use of the toll road are being examined: “We are also having the consultants see if we can squeeze a fifth bus lane into the cross section. That might be one way to handle transit.”

Fed Transit Admin the problem

The county executive said the only obstacle to a compromise appears to come from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) which was opposed to using transit funds on a toll road: “We’ve got pretty good general agreeement here in Houston on how we can accomodate one another’s interests. The major remaining problem is convincing Washington DC (FTA) to allow Houston Metro to do what it sees as in the best interests of transit.”

Eckels told us he thinks variable tolls are “the way of the future” and that the preliminary revenue study suggested this. The project would need a mix of tax money, revenue bonds and Metro contributions for financing, Eckels said. He sees little space for cash toll collection so the project will rely heavily, if not entirely, on electronic toll collection. (Contacts Robert Eckels, Harris Co 713 755 4000; David Gornet, Turner Collie & Braden 713 267 2885)