According to a new report by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), not a single road in Texas “pays for itself” with the current taxation system. “For example,” says the report, “in Houston, the 15 miles of SH 99 from I-10 to US 290 will cost $1 billion to build and maintain over its lifetime, while only generating $162 million in state and federal gas taxes. That gives a tax gap ratio of .16, which means that the real gas tax rate people would need to pay on this segment of road to completely pay for it would be $2.22 per gallon.” gulfcoastinstitute.org
