Mobility Authority Overview & History

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (Mobility Authority) is an independent government agency authorized through state legislation in 2002 to improve the transportation system in Williamson and Travis counties. The Mobility Authority’s mission is to develop, deliver, operate and maintain high-quality roadways and related transportation solutions.

The Mobility Authority’s mission is to develop, deliver, operate and maintain high-quality roadways and related transportation solutions.

New toll roads and lanes in Central Texas have been projects identified for decades as part of the region’s transportation plans, but have never been funded. We need additional capacity on our existing roads and need to build new roads where possible. Today, Central Texans do much of their driving on roads that were built years ago. For example, major highways like I-35 and MoPac had not been updated in decades, and the region’s growth has been so rapid that the road network has not been able to keep pace with demand. We need to build the next generation of highway projects now to serve the region as it continues to grow.

With toll financing, we can build projects more quickly than under the traditional gas-tax-funded, pay-as-you-go system, because toll projects receive full funding commitments prior to construction start.

We also need to build those projects before it's too late – while right-of-way is still affordable and before corridors are developed and would require displacing and disrupting businesses, homes or schools.

We also build more than toll roads. As part of each of our projects, we build bicycle and pedestrian facilities along the corridors where feasible, enhancing multimodal connectivity. We also incorporate aesthetic and landscaping enhancements and improve the non-tolled travel lanes. Only new lanes that we build are tolled; the same number of taxpayer-funded, non-tolled travel lanes that are available today will remain after we are finished with construction. Toll financing helps pay for these added improvements.

The Mobility Authority does not determine which roads to build. The Capitol Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) develops a long-range transportation plan for the region, prioritizes projects, estimates cost per project, and determines the most viable funding options on a case-by-case basis. All Mobility Authority projects begin as recommendations in the CAMPO plan. These projects are usually long-term projects, which can be done more quickly through a tolled option.

The current mobility crisis in Texas is bad for everyone – bad for the environment, for the economy, for public safety, and for quality of life. All new roads, including those that are tolled, give drivers more choices and allow them to spend less time on the road. A more efficient road network also helps with improving air quality.

Toll roads will also reduce the threats to public safety now caused by crowded highways and cut-through traffic in neighborhoods.

There is extensive oversight required of toll entities. Numerous audits and reports are generated to help ensure accountability to the regions they serve and to the state of Texas. Many of these reports are required by federal, state and local regulatory entities. In addition, many toll entities provide expansive reporting above and beyond what is required as an additional commitment to transparency. As evidence, Texas A&M Transportation Institute has cited the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority as a standard for transparency and accountability and encourages others to follow its lead.