When I was growing up I lived in Round Rock and went to school in Austin. I would love the hour sitting in traffic that it took driving into the city because it meant that I could spend quality time with my father and sometimes catch up on sleep. I would get up at 7:00 and I would get to school at just around 8:00 it didn't seem to bother me then because I wasn't the one driving, but now I can't stand it.
Traffic has always been a nuisance to deal with in Austin but as more and more people are moving here it is only getting worse. In the past 10 years we have added on toll roads and widened certain highways to improve the congestion, this is all thanks mostly to the Public- Private partnerships that the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDot) has put in place. It has become apparent that the funds through gas taxes and vehicle registration fees can not keep up with our growing population and the need to maintain and improve upon roads. This is why Texas government has begun to approve private companies to fund and maintain specific parts of road by implementing toll roads. I think these toll roads have been beneficial but really only for the people who live outside of major cities. The people in Austin are still having to deal with congestion in I-35, Mopac, and Research. I have heard talk, though, that TxDot is thinking about partnering up with a private company to widen Mopac to four lanes and create a toll lane to ease congestion there. When I went to TxDot's website to do some research on just who these private companies are, they seem to have detailed evidence of the agreements and have laid out just what their plans are for the roads. I think we should continue to create Public- Private partnerships because they can only have positive outcomes, it seems we will not be able to keep up financially with what our roadways need to make life easier.
An Article from the Star Telegram
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