Montgomery County Wants To Go It Alone On Toll Road Segment

The roughly four-mile extension would take the State Highway 249 toll road from the Harris County line to Pinehurst. The Montgomery County Toll Road Authority plans to build that segment using revenue bonds. The cost is about $73 million.

So why does the county want to build the road instead of letting TxDOT do it? We asked Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal.

"We can use any excess revenue that the project created to address free road issues in Montgomery County," says Doyal. "Or a future Commissioners Court once the debt was retired could choose to eliminate the tolls altogether."

The 249 project is designed to address the growing population in the region and Doyal says a toll road is their best option.

"People's property taxes are spread about as thin as they can spread right now," adds Doyal. "And so to me, to build a road that people who use the road will pay for only makes sense."

Montgomery County Commissioners Court voted 3-2 in favor of a resolution supporting the local toll road authority.

Local municipalities and community groups have also come out in support, but some residents told commissioners court TxDOT should build that segment. That includes The Woodlands Republican State Representative Mark Keough.

The long-range plan calls for TxDOT to eventually extend the 249 toll road all the way to College Station.