rsb320 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 (edited) the amount of traffic just didn't warrant it at the time of construction. 225 doesn't have one either.True, but demand has been there for a while now.I remember voting for this many years back. Originally, the tolls were to go away once the roads were paid for. I guess if they continue constructing, that justifies continuing to charge. I just wish they wouldn't wait until the roads are over congested prior to starting expansion projects. Edited July 10, 2009 by rsb320 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 According to Google Maps, the northeast segment is two lanes each direction and with roads intersecting it!! Is this gone now? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samagon Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 According to Google Maps, the northeast segment is two lanes each direction and with roads intersecting it!! Is this gone now?Currently they are what will become the feeders for the tollway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I agree that the south belt needs another lane (or two) especially between 288 and 59.Also, why the heck did they not put in an interchange at 288? Future plans call for an interchange to be built when they expand 288 between 610 and and the Tollway from 6 to 8 lanes. That's about 10-15 years from now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 I definitely think it was poor planning. And poor management that 13 years later, there still has not been a widening project there.It seems the government usually reacts instead of planning. I think one reason is because of expenses. It's hard to enough to just keep up. They can't afford to be pro-active when they're in the middle of doing other construction needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 It seems the government usually reacts instead of planning. I think one reason is because of expenses. It's hard to enough to just keep up. They can't afford to be pro-active when they're in the middle of doing other construction needs.When it comes to funding specific pork projects at the state and federal level, I'd tend to agree with you. But once agencies have a set budget and are deciding how to allocate that among various long-term capital improvement projects, actually they're quite judicious. They're actually required by law to be judicious...so much so, that the environmental review process on major projects frequently takes longer to complete than the actual construction. By the time that a major project is complete, many of the underlying assumptions about demand have had an opportunity to change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emanthehouseboy Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 (edited) Guys, since I'm a resident of North Shore where both US 90 and Beltway 8 are, how many of you have to start an EZ-Tag account?! The Northeastern Tollway stretch of Beltway 8 will be opening next weekend, and only EZ-Tag users can use it...according to HCTRA--and KTRK... Sam Houston Tollway Northeast KTRK, ABC 13: Final tollway section set to open Edited February 21, 2011 by emanthehouseboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I have one for my daily commute from Missouri City to the Baytown area and hit three toll plaza's each way. While I could use 288 to connect to 610, then around to 225, I find that the lack of traffic on the toll road when I make my commute helps with my sanity. Or maybe not if you consult my other half????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emanthehouseboy Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 (edited) I have one for my daily commute from Missouri City to the Baytown area and hit three toll plaza's each way. While I could use 288 to connect to 610, then around to 225, I find that the lack of traffic on the toll road when I make my commute helps with my sanity. Or maybe not if you consult my other half????? @Dub, that's why, as of this Saturday, we're going to have a second wheel...but it's a good thing that you'll be bypassing the traffic on the 610 loop Edited February 22, 2011 by emanthehouseboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emanthehouseboy Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 UPDATE: Looks like the tollway is now officially open...as of 5am this morning.At least according to KTRK-TV:Final section of Sam Houston Tollway opensEZTAG users...be ready to rock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercurge Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 The new connector from SH249 south to the SH Tollway west is finally open!! I read that the old enhance ramp to the tollway west will now be closed for a month . Anyone know why? It seems to be fine as is . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian0123 Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 About dang time. This should shave about 5 minutes from the drive coming back from my parents. Plus, no more getting stuck behind drivers stopping in the dedicated right turn lane unaware that they have their own lane. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollusk Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Plus, no more wondering if you're going to get creamed from behind while stopped in line adjacent to lanes moving at highway speeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 They actually built a flyover ramp since the last image update? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildthangjim Posted December 12, 2021 Share Posted December 12, 2021 HCTRA instituted hands-free tolling (and closed all the cash lanes) on the Sam Houston Tollway at the start of the pandemic in March 2020. As of today (12 Dec 2021) at the plaza nearest my house, just north of Westheimer, traffic is restricted to 3 EZTag lanes and one lane on the far right for those just entering the highway. Traffic backs up in both directions for most of every workday due to this restriction. I've not seen anything about when (or whether) they plan to open the closed lanes. I don't know the economics of it, but it would be great if they could just take out the tollbooths and go on using the pay by mail/EZ Tag system they've been using for the past 18 months. It would be nice to get some relief from these ongoing bottlenecks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxConcrete Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 There is preconstruction (i.e. design) work in progress to get rid of the legacy toll plazas on the original 3 sections of the Sam Houston Tollway. I agree, they are a bottleneck which cause a slowdown when traffic reaches a certain level. I recall at least one Harris County Commissions Court agenda item for consultant contracts for this work. It was not recent, probably 6-18 months ago. If you really want to find out more, you'll need to search through Harris County Commissioners Court agendas and you should find mention of this work. https://agenda.harriscountytx.gov/Archive.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildthangjim Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 23 hours ago, MaxConcrete said: There is preconstruction (i.e. design) work in progress to get rid of the legacy toll plazas on the original 3 sections of the Sam Houston Tollway. I agree, they are a bottleneck which cause a slowdown when traffic reaches a certain level. I recall at least one Harris County Commissions Court agenda item for consultant contracts for this work. It was not recent, probably 6-18 months ago. If you really want to find out more, you'll need to search through Harris County Commissioners Court agendas and you should find mention of this work. https://agenda.harriscountytx.gov/Archive.aspx Thanks for the information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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