Should toll roads be banned? Why or why not?
President Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1944, ushering in a dark, bleak and dreadful future for travel in the United States. However, American bureaucracy ensured that funds for the interstate system would not be allocated until 1956, when the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
With this law, the atrocious and appalling toll road system was put in place in Texas. The first toll road in Texas was opened in 1957. This toll road was between Dallas and Fort Worth and it cost 50 cents to drive from one end to the other. This toll road is now Interstate 30 highway.
Modern toll roads function by taking a picture of your license plate when you enter an entrance ramp to the toll road. The camera identifies the vehicle’s owner and a bill is sent to that person. You can also get a toll tag called TxTag, which makes it cheaper to drive on toll roads.
Operations of the toll roads in Texas are managed by the Texas Department of Transportation or TxDOT, and are further delegated to political subdivisions, or authorities, by region and county. The North Texas Tollway Authority or NTTA, operates all toll roads in the DFW metroplex.
The State of Texas has 25 toll roads. This is more than any other state. One reason for toll roads’ existence is the funds received through government bonds, which are repaid by toll road drivers. These bonds are used to maintain the toll roads and additionally used for road construction. This explains why toll roads exist, but it does not explain the need for them.
Toll roads should be eliminated
While driving home from work at 5 p.m., you notice something ahead of you: brake lights. You slow to a stop and join every Texan in a statewide tradition known as rush hour traffic. You are tired, hungry and just want to go home. You notice a triggering sign that reads “toll road.” You enter...
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