The North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) is a not-for-profit government organization that maintains and operates

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

s, bridges, and tunnels in the

North Texas North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, west of Paris, Texas, Par ...

area. Functioning as a political subdivision of the State of Texas under Chapter 366 of the Transportation Code, the NTTA is empowered to acquire, construct, maintain, repair and operate turnpike projects; to raise capital for construction projects through the issuance of turnpike revenue bonds; and to collect tolls to operate, maintain and pay debt service on those projects. The NTTA is governed by a nine-member board of directors, two appointed by each of the four counties in its service area: Collin County, Dallas County, Denton County and Tarrant County as well as one appointed by the

Texas Governor The governor of Texas is the head of state of the U.S. state of Texas. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the government of Texas and is the commander-in-chief of the Texas Military Forces. Established in the Constitut ...

. North Texas Tollway Authority is a non-profit entity, and performs many of the same functions as the

Texas Department of Transportation The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a Texas state government agency responsible for construction and maintenance of the state's immense Texas state highway system, state highway system and the support of the state's maritime trans ...

, but is limited solely to facilities that it operates for revenue.

Board of directors

There are nine members of the NTTA Board of Directors. Eight members are appointed by four counties, two per county. The ninth member is appointed by the governor. Of these members, one is elected to serve as board chairman, and another is elected to serve as vice chairman.

Current roadways

Tollways

Dallas North Tollway The Dallas North Tollway (DNT, or simply the Tollway) is a controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll road operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA), which runs from Interstate 35E (Texas), Interstate 35E near Downtown Dall ...

President George Bush Turnpike The President George Bush Turnpike (PGBT) is a controlled-access toll road running through the northern, northeastern and western suburbs, forming a partial beltway around Dallas, Texas, United States. It is named for the late George H. W. Bush ...

Sam Rayburn Tollway The Sam Rayburn Tollway (formerly the State Highway 121 Tollway) is a controlled-access toll road operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority that runs from Grapevine to McKinney. Its frontage roads are signed SH 121. The original portion ...

Chisholm Trail Parkway * Toll Texas 360 Tollway

360 Tollway

Bridges and tunnels

* Addison Airport Toll Tunnel * Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge *

Mountain Creek Lake Bridge The Mountain Creek Lake Bridge is a bridge in Dallas County, Texas. The bridge is part of the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) system. It is tolled in both directions (toll is collected on the west end of the bridge), and the lanes of the ...

Planned roadways or expansions

: northern extension to just north of the Grayson County line

Former or cancelled roadways

Dallas–Fort Worth Turnpike Interstate 30 (I-30) is a major Interstate Highway in the southern states of Texas and Arkansas in the United States. I-30 travels 366.76 miles from I-20 west of Fort Worth, Texas, northeast via Dallas, and Texarkana, Texas, to I-40 in N ...

* Jesse Jones Memorial Bridge *

Trinity Parkway The Trinity Parkway was a proposed six-lane toll road in Dallas, Texas (USA), to run from the State Highway 183/ Interstate 35E interchange to the U.S. Highway 175/Interstate 45. The Dallas City Council voted 14-1 in 2007 to support a parkway ...

: cancelled in 2017

History

Texas Turnpike Authority history

The Texas Turnpike Authority (TTA) began construction on the state's first toll road, the

, in 1955 and opened the road in 1957. Original plans were for the bonds on the Turnpike to be retired in 1995; however, the bonds were retired in 1977 (17 years ahead of schedule) and tolls were then removed from the road, which the next year was officially designated as

Interstate 30 Interstate 30 (I-30) is a major Interstate Highway in the southern states of Texas and Arkansas in the United States. I-30 travels 366.76 miles from Interstate 20, I-20 west of Fort Worth, Texas, northeast via Dallas, and Texarkana, Texas ...

(I-30). Construction began on NTTA's oldest existing toll road, the

, in 1966, and its first segment (from I-35E to I-635) was opened in 1968. The Tollway (as it is popularly known) has (along with general Dallas-area growth) expanded continually northward, opening extensions in 1987, 1994, and most recently in 2007. TTA started construction in 1977 on its first toll bridge, the

, which opened in 1979. The bridge spans

Mountain Creek Lake Mountain Creek Lake is a reservoir located southwest of Downtown Dallas, Texas, United States, in the Mountain Creek area of the city. It is located south of SH 180, west of Spur 408, north of I-20, and east of FM 1382. The defunct Naval Air St ...

in the southwestern Dallas County city of

Grand Prairie Grand Prairie is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties with a small part extending into Johnson county. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a popul ...

. Construction was started on TTA's only project outside the area, the Jesse Jones Memorial Bridge across the Houston Ship Channel, in 1979, with the bridge opening in 1982. TTA sold the bridge to the newly created

Harris County Toll Road Authority The Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA, pronounced "HECK-trah") maintains and operates a toll road system in the Greater Houston area of Texas, United States. Its headquarters are located in Houston's Fairbanks/Northwest Crossing neighb ...

in 1994, leaving all of TTA's assets in the area in which NTTA was later established.

NTTA establishment

The North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) was established in 1997 by Texas Senate Bill 370. The legislation abolished the TTA, which was an independent state agency, and established the Texas Turnpike Authority division of the

. The bill established the NTTA and made it the successor agency to TTA, assuming the prior agencies assets and liabilities. The bill authorized the establishment of other regional tollway authorities and established the laws by which they are governed.

TollTag

TollTag is the

electronic toll collection Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or Road pricing, toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing Tol ...

system used by the NTTA in the Dallas / Fort Worth metro area. It was North America’s first electronic toll collection system when it was installed on the

in 1989. There are currently over 4 million TollTags in operation in the North Texas area. The NTTA offers reduced toll rates for TollTag users at all toll points. TollTags can be used on all of the roadways of the NTTA, and they can also be used on any other toll road in the state of Texas as well as for some parking lots in downtown Dallas for parking or toll payment at the

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas region, in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Airlines, which is headquartere ...

(DFW), and at

Dallas Love Field Dallas Love Field is a city-owned public airport in the neighborhood of Love Field, Dallas, Love Field, northwest of downtown Dallas, Texas., effective April 17, 2025. It was Dallas' main airport until 1974 when Dallas Fort Worth Internation ...

Airport (DAL). Current TollTags are small stickers, similar to those used for state inspections and auto registrations but cannot be moved between vehicles. The previous TollTag was a hard case tag which was affixed to the windshield using

velcro Velcro IP Holdings LLC, trading as Velcro Companies and commonly referred to as Velcro (pronounced ), is a British privately held company, founded by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral in the 1950s. It is the original manufacturer of ho ...

tags; these tags have since been removed from service and replaced with the current version.

Interoperability

# 2003 -

(

TxTag TxTag , operated by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), was one of three interoperable electronic toll collection systems in Texas. The system was also interoperable with the K-TAG system used in Kansas and the Pikepass system used i ...

and Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority (

EZ Tag EZ TAG is an electronic toll collection system in Houston, Texas, United States, that allows motorists to pay tolls without stopping at toll booths. Motorists with the tags are allowed to use lanes reserved exclusively for them on all Harris Coun ...

). # August 10, 2014 -

Oklahoma Turnpike Authority The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (formerly Oklahoma Transportation Authority) is an agency of Oklahoma that deals with issues regarding the Turnpikes of Oklahoma, Oklahoma turnpike system. Along with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, th ...

( Pike Pass). # May 17, 2017 -

Kansas Turnpike Authority The Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA) is the organization that owns and maintains the Kansas Turnpike. Authority board The KTA is headed by a board of five members, two of which are appointed by the governor of the state. In addition, the Chairm ...

(

K-TAG The Kansas Turnpike is a controlled-access toll road that lies entirely within the US state of Kansas. It runs in a general southwest–northeast direction from the Oklahoma border to Kansas City. It passes through several major Kansas cities ...

). # 2023 - Florida's SunPass # June 2, 2024 - Colorado's ExpressToll # TBA -

Transportation Corridor Agencies Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) are two joint powers authorities formed by the California State Legislature in 1986 to plan, finance, construct, and operate Orange County's toll roads. TCA consists of two local government agencies: * ...

(via

FasTrak FasTrak is the electronic toll collection (ETC) system used in the state of California in the United States. It operates statewide on all toll roads, toll bridges, and high-occupancy toll lanes that are part of the California Freeway and Expr ...

) in Orange County, California

Criticism

In August 2010, the NTTA faced criticism by replacing the only minority member of the board—making the nine-member board all white and all male. A multi-year audit released in October 2011 stated that the NTTA had inappropriate discussions with consultants while they were in the midst of bidding on lucrative Tollway contracts, as well as not having a firmly defined code of

corporate ethics Business ethics (also known as corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics, that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business co ...

The FBI raid of 2011

Various DFW news outlets first started reporting that the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) had been raided by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials in late October 2011. NBC 5 DFW (

KXAS-TV KXAS-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned and operated by the NBC television network through its NBC Owned Television Stations division alon ...

) first reported this story on October 22, 2011 that "FBI Questioned NTTA Officials". Four years after that article was published, January 13, 2015, the NTTA finally released a nine-page PDF document entitled 'NTTA RUMORS Q&A' where the authority explained what exactly happened. According to the published memo: ''"Beginning in October 2011, the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

(the "FBI") interviewed several officials of the Authority regarding any knowledge the officials may have concerning the conduct of certain current and former Board members, including possible conflicts of interests pertaining to Authority business. The Authority has no reason to believe that it is the target of the investigation or that the investigation will materially adversely affect the operations or financial condition of the Authority or the transactions contemplated by the Resolution, the Trust Agreement and this Official Statement, or would adversely affect the validity or enforceability of the Resolution, the Trust Agreement or the Series 2014 Bonds. The investigation is ongoing and the Authority is cooperating fully with the FBI. There can be no assurance that the investigation will be limited to the matters described above or that the Authority will not become a target at a later date."'' Following this memo, neither any current or former board members were charged and the result, and or findings, of the FBI 'raid' are still currently unknown.

References

External links

North Texas Tollway Authority
{{Toll Roads in Texas Toll road authorities of the United States Transportation in Dallas Toll roads in Texas