Lake Lewisville Toll Bridge opens this weekend (Dallas, Fort Worth: neighborhood, construction)

[little elmer]

...and it's going to be a 3 year nightmare.

Not a Bridge to Nowhere, But One to Nowhere Fast - News- msnbc.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32195418/ns/local_news-dallasfort_worth_tx/ - broken link)

[bluescreen73]

Yup, here comes the fun. I've screamed for 2 years that opening the bridge before Eldorado is finished is stupid and short-sighted.

Our fine, former County Commissioner (and now TxDOT mouthpiece) Cynthia White blew me off when I asked if there was anything we could do to move the bridge opening back to 2011.

Just wait 'til all those millionaires living out in Lakewood Village start bitching about not being able to get out of their neighborhood because of the backups.

[IMATXNATIVE]

The NTTA has to continue to pursue crazy projects like this in order to maintain their existence. Should the guy entering NTTA downtown be helping pay for a bridge 40 miles away in Little Elm?

I can imagine a future where drivers in Dallas are financing NTTA projects in Fort Worth, Denton, & Sherman.

[WillysB]

And the happy hour bars start opening to accommodate the commuters.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by IMATXNATIVE

The NTTA has to continue to pursue crazy projects like this in order to maintain their existence. Should the guy entering NTTA downtown be helping pay for a bridge 40 miles away in Little Elm?

I can imagine a future where drivers in Dallas are financing NTTA projects in Fort Worth, Denton, & Sherman.

You already are subsidizing a project in Fort Worth. The NTTA upped toll rates on the DNT & PGBT in September of 2008 to raise money for the construction of the Southwest Parkway Project in Tarrant and Johnson Counties.

http://www.sh-121t.org/

[IMATXNATIVE]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

You already are subsidizing a project in Fort Worth. The NTTA upped toll rates on the DNT & PGBT in September of 2008 to raise money for the construction of the Southwest Parkway Project in Tarrant and Johnson Counties.

Welcome

Hmm. I didn't know that. Now that's just completely F-in ridiculous.

I'm lucky enough to live in an area where I don't use any NTTA road on a regular basis. Even though I'm not really affected, the whole NTTA concept pisses me off. It is an unfair geographic tax cloaked as a usage tax. The people who live in the inner ring along the DNT are getting screwed the worst. They've been paying into the fund for decades and probably will continue to pay forever. ... Paying for roads they may never even see.

And all that from a guy who drops probably less than $50 / year into NTTA. Imagine how pissed I'd be if I had to use an NTTA road everyday! I wouldn't mind paying for GBT or 121, but the DNT south of 635 should have been paid off a decade (or two) ago.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by IMATXNATIVE

And all that from a guy who drops probably less than $50 / year into NTTA. Imagine how pissed I'd be if I had to use an NTTA road everyday! I wouldn't mind paying for GBT or 121, but the DNT south of 635 should have been paid off a decade (or two) ago.

Bingo. The original section of the DNT (I-35 to 635) has been paid off since 1984.

[chicago_transplant]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

Bingo. The original section of the DNT (I-35 to 635) has been paid off since 1984.

I'm happy it's a toll, if for no other reason than to keep the traffic down when I'm on it

[little elmer]

“The LLTB is destined to become a Denton County landmark signifying improved mobility in the region,” said NTTA Chairman Paul N. Wageman.

I'm sure that during rush hour next week we won't have those two words on our lips.