First toll lanes planned for existing U.S. Interstate - Public Information and Information Exchange - Brief Article

Public Roads, Sept-Oct, 2003

In May 2003, construction began on Katy Freeway, Interstate 10, on the western side of Houston, TX, marking the Nation's first construction project to build toll lanes on an existing interstate. On Katy Freeway, four toll lanes will be constructed to ease highway congestion and improve mobility.

FHWA approved the Katy Freeway project, one of the largest transportation projects in Texas history, as part of a pilot program in value pricing proposed by the Harris County Toll Road Authority and the Texas DOT. Value pricing is a way of easing highway congestion by providing a toil road alternative that varies by time of day and level of congestion. Benefits of value pricing include reduced frustration and delay, increased travel choices, more efficient modal choices, revenue generation, and increased economic productivity.

Approval of the program enables the toll road authority to invest up to $500 million toward the reconstruction of 1-10, completing the funding for the project and potentially cutting construction time in half (down to 6 years).

For more information on the Katy Freeway, visit www.katyfreeway.org. To learn more about value pricing, visit www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/vppp.htm, or contact Dan Reagan, FHWA-Texas Division Administrator at 512-536-5901 or dan.reagan@fhwa.dot.gov.