Abstract:
The experience of Texas with pass-through tolling is summarized in this paper. Between August 2005 and October 2007, 13 agreements were authorized by the Texas Transportation Commission, in partnerships with 10 counties, two cities, and one private developer. Total commitment of state funds through 2029 is approximately $1.32 billion. Conceptually, pass-through tolling is similar to shadow tolling as practiced in Europe, but with some differences in Texas. From analysis of the project agreements and interviews with technical staff, it was found that improvements are desirable in four areas: selection of projects, choice of financing mechanism, estimation of project benefits, and training for staff in project financing.
