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Mopac express lane

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  • TheDan

    deplorable malcontent scofflaw
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    8   0   0
    Nov 11, 2008
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    Austin - Rockdale
    Tried it out today... Promptly got stuck behind a van going 65mph. Cars in the normal lanes were passing us. Why the hell is this thing only one lane? WTF is express about it?
    Venture Surplus ad
     

    Southpaw

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    14   0   0
    Mar 30, 2009
    17,862
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    Guadalupe Co.
    http://www.mopacexpress.com/express-lanes/index.php

    [h=1]What Are Express Lanes?[/h] Express Lanes are special lanes that will be separated from the three existing non-tolled lanes by special striping and white plastic delineator sticks.
    Express Lanes provide public transit buses, registered van pools, and emergency vehicles with a reliable, uncongested, non-stop, toll free route to their destination.
    Because public transit buses, registered vanpools and emergency vehicles will not use up all of the space in the Express Lanes, individual drivers will be permitted to use the lane if they choose to.
    To keep the Express Lanes from becoming congested, individual drivers are charged a variable toll that increases when traffic is heavy and goes down when traffic is light. The primary goal is not to generate revenue, but to keep the Express Lane free flowing as much as possible.
    The MoPac Express Lanes will encourage people to carpool because they have the option to split the cost of the trip among each occupant in the vehicle.
    The Express Lanes are not intended for everyday use. There will not be enough capacity to accommodate everyone who might want to use them.
    Individual drivers will have to decide whether any particular trip is worth the toll being charged at the time they wish to use the Express Lanes.
    Please see the Access Points page to see how and where you can access the Express Lanes after they are constructed.
     

    will_em

    New Member
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    0   0   0
    Dec 19, 2016
    34
    1
    I've given up completely on Mopac. Hell, I gave up on Austin traffic before I even moved here. Heard too many horror stories.
     

    JD9305

    Member
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    1   0   0
    Feb 4, 2016
    133
    1
    Austin & Ranch in Llano
    I think where it will help is the 7 to 9 am traffic and the 4 to 6 pm traffic....also there is a shit load of people on vacay right now. With all that said I won't use it unless I'm in that rush hour time period or in a big rush! I also think they could have done better and hooked us up with 2 lanes though.
     

    TheDan

    deplorable malcontent scofflaw
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    8   0   0
    Nov 11, 2008
    27,545
    96
    Austin - Rockdale
    Just wait until there's a wreck on the HOV lane. Did they do Houston stupid and put barriers up on both sides where towing vehicles can't get on?
    Yep, but it's those "soft" barriers you could drive through if you had to. It has a healthy sized shoulder so emergency vehicles could probably use that. If it weren't for all the debris on it, I would have used it to pass :laughing:
     

    Se7en62

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    3   0   0
    Feb 24, 2015
    1,504
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    That Holler Up Yonder, Texas
    It's criminal-racket put on by the Austin City Council and the contracting companies who build the roads. Austin's corrupt as they come, which is typical of a city run by Democrats.

    As for Mopac, where they could have EASILY built two-lanes with NO TOLLS, they instead decided that a single lane and one exorbitant toll was a better plan. It was delivered late (still isn't completely done) and over-budget.

    All the while Governor Abbott has a panel of TX representatives auditing TXDOT and their prolific use of tollways in Texas. Abbott tasked them with coming up with a plan to make Texas toll-free by 2018. So far, they've found several tollways in Houston and Dallas that have been paid off for years, yet Texas residents are still being charged millions of dollars worth of tolls.

    ...where's the money going? ...why isn't it used state-wide to build more efficient infrastructure? ...why are democrats ruining my fucking city with their moronic ideas!?

    ETA: When I say "my city", I mean the city where I was born, where I met my wife, and the city we moved out of to get away from the traffic and growth. We aren't OUT completely, but Hutto has more farm dirt than concrete and that's the way I like it.
     
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    Se7en62

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    Feb 24, 2015
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    That Holler Up Yonder, Texas
    I thought MoPac was a TxDOT project, no?

    As far as I'm aware, the Austin City Council are the one's that approve the codes, permits, contractors, quotes, etc for anything inside of Austin City Limits. TXDOT merely facilitate the process and possibly overseas the overall project's budget (which they fail at almost constantly.)

    This is why Abbott is auditing it all. He know's it's a racket and he knows there's corruption and somewhere a group of people is heavily benefiting from the incessant use of tollways in Texas as newly developed roadways.

    Not to mention, the 130 Toll was paid for twice now, much like we paid for the clusterfuck of an intersection at the Y in Oak Hill (290/71) twice. Hell, we even paid for a contractor (who was kin to someone on the council) to spend a month in France "studying" an intersection of the same design...then 10 years later (2015), the intersection was actually built.

    I may be wrong though, so if someone knows better, please correct me.
     

    zincwarrior

    TGT Addict
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    0   0   0
    Jan 27, 2010
    4,775
    66
    Texas, land of Tex-Mex
    It's criminal-racket put on by the Austin City Council and the contracting companies who build the roads. Austin's corrupt as they come, which is typical of a city run by Democrats.

    As for Mopac, where they could have EASILY built two-lanes with NO TOLLS, they instead decided that a single lane and one exorbitant toll was a better plan. It was delivered late (still isn't completely done) and over-budget.

    All the while Governor Abbott has a panel of TX representatives auditing TXDOT and their prolific use of tollways in Texas. Abbott tasked them with coming up with a plan to make Texas toll-free by 2018. So far, they've found several tollways in Houston and Dallas that have been paid off for years, yet Texas residents are still being charged millions of dollars worth of tolls.

    ...where's the money going? ...why isn't it used state-wide to build more efficient infrastructure? ...why are democrats ruining my $#@!ing city with their moronic ideas!?

    ETA: When I say "my city", I mean the city where I was born, where I met my wife, and the city we moved out of to get away from the traffic and growth. We aren't OUT completely, but Hutto has more farm dirt than concrete and that's the way I like it.


    You know your Republican representatives are gung ho for tollroads now instead of publicly financed roads right? Thats been state policy for almost a decade now.

    Also IIRC but the 130 partnership went bankrupt.

    Having said that, I agree. Tolls should go away when paid, but they never ever ever are.
     
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    Se7en62

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    Feb 24, 2015
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    That Holler Up Yonder, Texas
    Former Governor Rick Perry was pro-toll.

    Governor Greg Abbott is anti-toll.

    Here's a petition at Change.org regarding this issue:
    https://www.change.org/p/texans-for...y-legislation-or-litigation-sign-the-petition

    Otherwise, here's the articles on Abbott and TXDOT's current audit of Texas Tollways:

    Texas Lawmakers Explore Ending Toll Roads March, 2016
    http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/texas-lawmakers-explore-ending-toll-roads/111019313

    Abbott Signs Anti-Toll Bill - June, 2016
    http://woai.iheart.com/articles/local-news-119078/abbott-signs-anti-toll-bill-13644520/

    Lawmakers Lean Toward Removing Texas Tolls - August, 2016
    http://www.houstonchronicle.com/new...-toward-removing-some-Texas-tolls-9193269.php

    Key States in 2016 Election - Recently Tossing Pro-Toll Incumbents - November, 2016
    http://tollfreehighways.com/category/news/
     

    Se7en62

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    That Holler Up Yonder, Texas
    Are you being intentionally obtuse, or are you just not reading anything?

    Your blanket statement is false based on the fact that Abbott is Anti-Toll and has been saying so since before he took office. Therefore, he doesn't support it.

    He's only been in office for 2 years, so I'd say they're making progress where Pro-Toll, Quasi-Republican, Rick Perry failed.
     
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    Southpaw

    Forum BSer
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    14   0   0
    Mar 30, 2009
    17,862
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    Guadalupe Co.
    2 lanes would have made it actually useful. I'm happy to pay extra if I can actually drive, but won't do it to be stuck behind a bus.

    Seeing as the lane was intended for public transit buses, registered vanpools and emergency vehicles, I would assume chances of not being stuck behind one or the other are probably nil.
     
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