Grand Parkway south of Westpark to be Tolled? How will this affect businesses? (Houston: 2014, home)

[Whyrallnamestaken]

Does anybody know if the Grand Parkway south of Westpark going to be a toll road?

I'm wondering how it will affect the businesses along GP. For instance, from a map it looks like anybody in Katy would have to take the back roads to get to the Santikos Palladium to avoid paying a toll. Sometimes I drive to the Kroger farther down GP at West Bellfort. I don't want to pay a toll every time I go that way. I would have to drive to Grand Mission and go south to West Bellfort to get to the Kroger. I wonder if these retailers took the possibility of GP becoming a toll road into consideration before they decided to build there.

I drive the Westpark toll road coming home during the week. I'd like to avoid paying tolls as much as possible.

[cla]

The tolls will only be on the newly constructed overpasses. If you stay on the frontage roads you will not have to pay a toll. No toll booths will be added to existing the roadway - that was already paid for by taxpayers.

Here is a simplified view of Segment D

http://impactnews.com/houston-metro/...y-end-of-year/

[DSL_PWR]

Yes it will be tolled. All the businesses knew that the Grand Parkway was going to be tolled. That was the plan from the beginning. Once more of it is completed EZ Tag booms will go in.

There are plenty of ways to go to avoid paying tolls. Might take a little longer but what is your time worth?

[bayoubengal1982]

You can still take the existing (frontage roads). The overpasses will be tolled and is EZ tag only. Does anyone know when scheduled completion is? I believe the original completion was Dec '13.

[v2four]

the current Hwy 99 or grand parkway will be the new feeder road and WILL NOT BE TOLLED. you can still go the the movie theatre, Kroger, the lakes of bella terra shopping center and even ride the current road from 1-10 to 59 just like you do today.

only the new sections, which will be elevated above the current road, will be tolled, but there will be 7 toll plazas from 59 to the westpark toll, which is overkill if you ask me...unless the toll plazas are EZ tag at the exits, similar to how the sam Houston toll plaza is right now

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by cla

The tolls will only be on the newly constructed overpasses. If you stay on the frontage roads you will not have to pay a toll. No toll booths will be added to existing the roadway - that was already paid for by taxpayers.

Sounds nice and pretty
except that I bet they are gonna install a bunch of street lights and drop the speed limit to 45MPH on the frontage roads

[Whyrallnamestaken]

Do they have room to construct toll lanes in the middle all the way to Hwy 90? Some of you say it will be tolled; others say the feeders won't??

[NTexas2010]

Originally Posted by Dopo

Sounds nice and pretty
except that I bet they are gonna install a bunch of street lights and drop the speed limit to 45MPH on the frontage roads

They might push 50mph on the feeder sections, depending upon how high the speed limit is on the tolled portions (they may push it up to 65mph on the main lanes now that a majority of the existing twists and turns will be smoothed out, but who knows). And lights on that road probably wouldn't hurt.

As to the locations of the tolls, they will be before each of the newly constructed overpasses. So you will have the option to follow the existing route with stop lights or bi-passing the lights and going over the bridges. Tolls on the overpasses will be $.35.

There will be tolled overpasses beginning at Bellaire all the way to 59. It will cost a total of $2.45 to travel from Westpark to 59 using all 7 of the tolled overpasses. The alternative is to exit at each bridge and sit at the lights you currently sit at now. Personally once I take into account how long it takes me to travel to 59 while often sitting in traffic at each light and the stop and start nature of the current design, $2.45 for 15-20min of travel becomes a 7-10 drive that uses a little less gas. I'm fine with that, although it is anyone else's prerogative to continue to utilize the feeder roads.

[Whyrallnamestaken]

Originally Posted by NTexas2010

As to the locations of the tolls, they will be before each of the newly constructed overpasses. So you will have the option to follow the existing route with stop lights or bi-passing the lights and going over the bridges. Tolls on the overpasses will be $.35.

So that's how they are going to do it. For short trips I don't mind waiting at the lights.

[NTexas2010]

Originally Posted by bayoubengal1982

You can still take the existing (frontage roads). The overpasses will be tolled and is EZ tag only. Does anyone know when scheduled completion is? I believe the original completion was Dec '13.

Someone on here in another thread said March 2014. They're beginning to hang signage along the overpasses (I saw the sign for the Bellaire exit traveling southbound from Westpark this afternoon).