The Cameron Country Regional Mobility Authority (CCRMA) in the Brownsville, TX, area is continuing all-electronic tolling on the next phase of the SH550 that will provide a direct connection between US77 and the Port of Brownsville. US77 connects the Brownsville area to the north including I-37 to San Antonio and northeast to Houston.
The SH550 project is an upgrade of surface highway FM511, and the ports of Brownsville and Isabel and South Padre Island to the east. The approximate 10-mi., SH550 project has been broken into segments.
SH550 uses the combination of tolled expressway through lanes straddled by toll-free frontage roads that carry slip ramps to and from the express roadways and connect to signalized intersections at crossroads, according to a report in TollroadsNews.
The CCRMA marketing materials before the opening of the tolled overpass read:
“Drivers Will Always Have a Choice: The road that you have been driving on is still an option for you and you will not pay a toll if you continue to drive it. If you choose however to use the overpass at Paredes Line Road you will pay a toll for the added safety and reduced travel times offered by the toll road.”
This first segment of the SH550 opened May 2011 and was the first all-electronic toll facility in the border region. The next longer segment with a second toll point opens in a few months time.
There are also upgrades to the border crossings on the Rio Grade to Brownsville’s sister city Matamoros south of the border.
CTRMA makes use of TxDOT’s TxTag program for toll tag distribution, enrollment, and billing.
