The Woodlands I-45 question

[jander]

All,  I have family in The Woodlands, TX area that I have been visiting often for the last 18 months.  Since I have been there, I have witnessed the construction of 2 giant flyover ramps in the Conroe area. They appear to connect I-45 to tX242 and I belive they are tolled.

Now I must say I actually like the Texas Feeder road concept.

But can someone explain to me how these ramps work, and why they are necessary?  Traffic never seemed that bad to me, and the feeder road concept made the left turn easy.  Of course I  am not commuting daily either. It just seems like expensive infrastructure for the sake of infrastructure. Do the tolls pay for the cost of the ramps?  Is traffic flow that much better?

Thanks.

[iBallasticwolf2]

How do you think they are tolled? Those ramps sure don't seem tolled.

[MaxConcrete]

The ramps are tolled, $0.50 during the day and $0.25 at night.

Here are some excerpts from a recent news report:

The direct connectors - intended to relieve congestion at the busiest intersection in Montgomery County and costing about $34 million to build - is the last project to be completed from the 2005 Montgomery County Road Bond. The flyovers connect Interstate 45 northbound to Texas 242 westbound and Texas 242 westbound to Interstate 45 southbound, allowing drivers the opportunity to skip the backup at the light at that intersection - if they're willing to pay a toll. The tolling equipment is being installed and will be tested before tolling begins on July 6. Montgomery County Commissioners Court set the toll rate at 50 cents during peak hours, 6 a.m.-8 p.m., and 25 cents for off-peak hours, 8 p.m.-6 a.m., at its meeting Monday.

A 24-hour traffic count conducted on May 26, found that nearly 14,500 motorists used the ramps during that period, with the highest level of traffic between 7 and 8 a.m. and more than 9,000 of the motorists using the connector to get to Interstate 45 southbound from Texas 242 westbound, said project manager Jennie Taraborelli of PTP Transportation. The connectors are designed to carry 2,000 cars per hour, so even at peak hours during the traffic count, the flyovers were operating at about 50 percent capacity. Still, the count exceeded projections, Taraborelli said.

"Everyday we've seen more and more people use the connectors as they're becoming aware that they're open," Taraborelli said. She predicts that the count will drop off once tolling begins, but that it will climb back up over time.

Taraborelli added that the stoplights on Texas 242 westbound have now been synced to the Texas Department of Transportation's system, so they will be reactive to traffic patterns.