Central Texas

Texas DOT will run their violations amnesty Aug 31 thru Nov 30 under which 90% of accumulated violation penalties will be forgiven in return for paying tolls in full and 10% of penalties. Amnesty seekers will also be required to open a TxTag transponder account and to keep it in good standing for 12 months.

After the amnesty period TxDOT say they will begin court filings to collect outstanding tolls.

Chairman of the Central Texas Regional MobilityAuthority (CTRMA) since its inception Bob Tesch is packing it in. Only last week reappointed by the Governor, he said he'd had second thoughts.

The news was hailed as "the best transportation news I've heard in a long while" by local grouch, and transplanted New Yorker Peter Stern, so it must be bad news. But then Texas has been a lot of bad news for tolling the past couple of years.

Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority board have voted to eliminate cash toll collection on their 183A toll road northwest of Austin by the end of 2008. The decision is expected to save the agency more than $1 million annually in operating costs.

Toll supporters won a major political victory Monday evening (2007-10-08) in Austin TX when the Capital Area Metro Plan Organization (CAMPO) voted 15/4, 14/5 and 14/4 in favor of five toll projects. They will cost an estimated $1.5b, and cover 34km (21 miles).

The projects are:

- US290 East between US183 and TX130

- US183 Springfield Rd to TX71E

Central Texas may be a hotbed of anti-toll activism but motorists there love the tollroads. Traffic and revenue on the four pikes that have opened this year is way above expectations. In six months on the 183A tollroad they are meeting third year traffic and revenue forecasts.