Another hand in my pocket....

It seems the North Texas Turnpike Authority board is comprised of AIG executives. There are plans afoot to increase Dallas area toll rates by 32% in order to cover a shortfall in revenue. Of course the bench level for revenue was based on assumptions and expected travel levels. The reason the need for revenue is so dire is because the board paid too much for the right to administer tolls on Sam Rayburn Highway (the new 121 from Grapevine to McKinney). Traffic flow for that road has never reached its anticipated level.
The billions of dollars the board bid for the rights to that road were funded through bonds. The bond holders were promised a rate of return based on the anticipated level of traffic. If the cash flow for NTTA dips too low, the interest rate on the bonds increases, raising the cost.
Just like the smart guys at AIG, the NTTA board never considered failure a possibility. I mean, sure it was in the contract, but c'mon, we're talking Frisco and McKinney here. Lots of room to keep growing. Growth never stops. Especially in North Texas.
Guess what? It has slowed considerably.
And that means that NTTA will increase rates not to pay for more and better roads. Nope, it's gonna raise the rates I pay to drive Texas Department of Transportation roads to cover THEIR bad business decision.
We need a plan to get rid of the sons of guns.