Botched Toll Bills Prompt $1.7 Millon in Refunds
Billing problems on state toll roads are bigger than TxDOT previously announced, and customers who have been overcharged will be getting about $1.7 million back. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/04/05/HoustonTollBooth.jpg)
-
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Bill Jacobus -
Senate Approves Funneling Car Sales Tax to Highways
If voters approve, some of the taxes collected on car sales would be dedicated to building and fixing highways under the first two pieces of legislation to clear the Senate this session. Teachers might also see a pay boost under the measures. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib_ConstructionWorkers.jpg)
![Wokers along stretch of highway at US290/US 183 April 2011]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Car Sticker Rules Starting Sunday Could Confuse Drivers
A new single-sticker system for inspecting and registering millions of Texas vehicles begins on Sunday, and some lawmakers are warning that the change will confuse Texas drivers. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/02/27/Inspection_Sticker_copy.jpg)
![Inspection stickers will begin disappearing from Texas vehicles when the state rolls out a new single-sticker program for inspection and registration on March 1, 2015.]()
Credit: Ryan McCrimmon for The Texas Tribune -
Nichols' Car Sales Tax Plan Moves to Senate Floor
The Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday voted 8-1 in favor of a proposal to dedicate some of the sales tax collected on automobile sales to improving roads — but not before several lawmakers expressed reservations. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/02/04/Nichols0522_Nichols001.jpg)
![State Sen. Robert Nichols.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Abbott, Senate Leaders Tout Road Funding Plans
The day before Texas lawmakers begin considering a major transportation bill, state leaders made a concerted push for the measure as part of a larger effort to boost much-needed highway funding. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/02/17/BDS_3970.jpg)
![Gov. Greg Abbott delivering his State of the State speech on Feb. 17, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Abbott Taps Two for Transportation Commission
Former state Rep. Tryon Lewis and San Antonio banker J. Bruce Bugg Jr. will replace Chairman Ted Houghton and Commissioner Fred Underwood on the Texas Transportation Commission. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/01/13/_S3R7957Abbott.jpg)
![Greg Abbott is shown visiting the Senate chamber on Jan. 13, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Erroneous Toll Bills Fuel Criticism at Hearing
Officials with the Texas Department of Transportation and Xerox surprised senators Wednesday by reporting that 30,000 drivers with valid TxTag accounts were erroneously mailed bills for using the state’s toll roads. Full Story
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Bill Jacobus -
Patrick, Nichols: Put Car Sales Tax Toward Roads
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Senate Transportation Chairman Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, unveiled a plan Wednesday to boost transportation funding by dedicating some of the sales tax already collected on car sales to road work. Full Story
![State Sen. Robert Nichols.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
TxDOT: Toll Billing Problems Being Addressed
Officials with the Texas Department of Transportation and Xerox, the company handling the state's tolling operations, said Thursday that fixes to customer service and billing issues were in the works. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/03/27/Toll-Roads.jpg)
![Interstate 45 Gulf Freeway's HOV and Toll lanes exit into Metro's Eastowood Transit Center in Houston Friday, October 19, 2012.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Musk: Texas a "Leading Candidate" to Host Hyperloop Test Track
Entrepreneur Elon Musk said Thursday that Texas is in the driver's seat for a test track for a transportation system known as the Hyperloop. He also said that a SpaceX facility wouldn't have been built in Texas without economic incentives. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/01/15/7C2A0629.jpg)
![Elon Musk, the CEO and of SpaceX and Tesla Motors, spoke at the Texas Transportation Forum in Austin on Jan. 15, 2015.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
A Toll Road Strategy That's "as Big as Texas"
There's no doubt that Gov. Rick Perry has left his mark on the state’s approach to funding roads. Aman Batheja writes that under Perry's leadership, Texas has been the country’s most aggressive supporter of tolling and private-sector investment in transportation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/12/19/_0000_perrylegacy-share_transpo.png_1.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Lawmakers Set $7 Billion "Floor" for State Savings Account
Lawmakers on Thursday chose $7 billion as an appropriate minimum balance for the Rainy Day Fund in a meeting that took just a few minutes but will have far-reaching consequences. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/PiggyBankBudget.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Abbott Plans to Add $4 Billion to Road Funding
Gov.-elect Greg Abbott wants to add $4 billion each year to build and maintain Texas roads, nearly closing the annual budget shortfall at the Texas Department of Transportation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/12/08/AbbottTraffic-1.jpg)
![Greg Abbott said boosting transportation funding would be a priority for him during his first term as governor.]()
Credit: Illustration by Bob Daemmrich / Callie Richmond -
Lower Speed Limits Coming in Drilling Areas
A rule change will allow the Texas Department of Transportation to move more quickly in lowering speed limits on particularly dangerous roads in the state's drilling regions in West and South Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/10/29/TT-Shale-Accidents-002.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa -
Prop 1 Passed. Now What?
With the support of 80 percent of Texas voters, Proposition 1 is expected to add billions to the state highway fund without raising taxes or fees. For lawmakers, state officials and local stakeholders, now the real work begins. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/07/30/Money-On-The-Horizon.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Mikel Manitius -
TxDOT Ends Program That Converts Paved Roads to Gravel
The Texas Department of Transportation has ended its controversial program aimed at converting some badly damaged paved roads to gravel, more than a year after the launch of the initiative drew national attention to the agency's budget troubles. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/08/21/BeforeAfter_1.jpg)
![Before and after images of of the frontage road on I-37 in Live Oak County. The Texas Department of Transportation converted the badly-damaged asphalt road to an unpaved road the week of August 19, 2013.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Transportation -
At First Bullet Train Meeting, Location is Everything
Attendees at the first public meeting on a proposed high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston told federal officials they're for the project — so long as the stations are conveniently located downtown. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/08/15/train-hispeed-upload.jpg)
![The Japanese Shinkansen is a high-speed trail used by JR Central in Japan. A private company is planning to build a rail line between Dallas and Houston using the same trains.]()
Credit: Norihiro Kataoka -
State Supreme Court to Decide Just What a Billboard is Worth
Public officials are nervously awaiting the high court's ruling in a fight between TxDOT and Clear Channel Outdoor that could drive up future highway project costs. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/10/16/Billboard-LowAnge.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Theen Moy -
Analysis: A Simple and Very Expensive Proposal
It's one thing to say highway funds should go to highways. The problem is with all of the other programs those funds support. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Animation: What is Proposition 1?
If a statewide proposition on this year's ballot passes, the Texas Department of Transportation could pull in billions of dollars in additional funding for new highway projects. So what is Proposition 1, and how would it work? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Prop-1-Lead.png)
![Article thumbnail]()
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c23061c74997f3621e96ac0ed7511695/BD%20INC%20Capitol%20Security%201009%202013)