The State of Texas Must Stop Blocking Necessary Toll Road Expansions of I-635

The gloves are off. It's time to get ugly. The shame campaign is underway.The LBJ East project construction project for Interstate 635, extending the success of LBJ Express to the residents of East Dallas, Garland and Mesquite, has been stalled for four years while our State Sens. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, and Don Huffines, R-Dallas, played amateur transportation planners and extended the misery of the people they supposedly represent.In collusion with Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Governor Greg Abbott, they have been working behind closed doors the stop this project because it includes giving residents the freedom to choose a toll-managed lane.Not since the fall of communism have we seen such a blatant example of the notion that the government knows better than the people.Since 2000, the North Texas region has invested billions of dollars in our transportation infrastructure. These projects could not have gone forward without the use of tolls or managed lane projects in combination with tax-funded lanes (there is no such thing as a free lane). The economic boom we are enjoying now would have never taken place. Among the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., Dallas had both the highest job growth rate and the most jobs added between November 2016 and November 2017.  Continue reading...