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For Pearland residents with jobs in Houston, the toll lanes on Highway 288 bring them to and fro without the hassle induced by the Bayou City's notoriously congested traffic.
According to a report from Houston FOX affiliate KRIV, the $14.54 commuters pay, however, adds up to amounts that are described as “unaffordable.”
One motorist told KRIV that he racked up more than $300 in a month while another said she’d use the tolls more if they weren’t so costly.
The station reported that the South Freeway toll lanes, which begin in Manvel some 11 miles south of Pearland and terminate at the Southwest Freeway just outside of Downtown Houston, were opened about three years ago and cost $815 million to build.
They belong to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), which worked with the BlueRidge Transportation Group, LLC on the project, KRIV reported.
Toll costs from across the Lone Star State go toward the project.
Per a driver identified as Eston, KRIV reported, his commute generated a bill that came in the neighborhood of at least $7,000.
"They’re hiking up the prices to the point where it’s crazy," Eston told the station. "It’s unaffordable really, but I almost don’t have a choice because 288 is a parking lot."
He added that it basically costs $10 to go to work.
“That’s crazy,” Eston said in the report. "Hopefully, they bring the tolls down. I can’t imagine they need that much money to pay for the road."
Another resident, Vanessa Washington, said that Highway 288 costs more than the regular tolls, KRIV reported.
The Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) said its EZ TAG works on Highway 288 toll lanes.
Houston CBS affiliate KHOU reported that the Harris County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a decrease in toll rates on roads managed by the HCTRA such as Beltway 8, the Westpark Tollway and Hardy Toll Road.