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But aside from those points, it's the friggin principle behind it that pisses me off. I pay $9.50 in highway tax every single time I fill up my truck. And I"m one of about, what, 20MM people driving in Texas these days? Why the hell should any of us pay tolls on roads that should be funded by our highway taxes?
Not a single penny of that $9.50 goes to pay for the roads that the HCTRA tolls pay for. In fact, a good chunk of your tolls go back to the county precincts for use in their road and bridge improvements. Feel free to tell your commissioner that you don't want them to take that money. They're the ones who are ultimately over HCTRA.
Nobody likes paying taxes and nobody likes paying tolls. However, the truth is that if the funding were there for TxDOT and the counties to build all the roads that needed building, toll roads wouldn't be needed. But the funding isn't there so toll roads exist to bridge the gap.
As another poster said, at least this way you still have the option of paying to drive the managed lanes or staying in the free lanes if you don't feel the toll is worth the time saved.