The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization wants to upgrade some Austin highways.  The problem is that they are short of money needed for the upgrades.  The answer may be more toll roads for the Austin area.  Many people hate the idea of having any toll roads at all, but there are at least a few who don't mind.

I was touring north shore Lake Travis real estate a few days ago.  The agent leading the tour told the group that with the new toll road 183A open, the trip from deep inside Lago Vista to downtown is just 55 minutes in traffic.  The stretch on 1431 from Lago Vista to Cedar Park still takes a while, but once you get on the toll road the trip is pretty fast.  Before 183A opened, the trip was a good 15-30 minutes longer.  This is great news for people selling real estate on the north shore.  Before 183A opened, much of the area was just too far from the downtown Austin area for people to want to live there and commute.  Now more people are buying there.

So are more toll roads the answer for other highways in the Austin area?  My opinion is that the highways will be upgraded much more quickly if they become toll roads.  Left to the local governing entities, the upgrades could take forever.