The North Houston Association—a group that advocates for infrastructure and mobility projects among other initiatives to support the business climate in north Harris and Montgomery counties—has asked Harris County Judge Ed Emmett to put more money toward local road projects.

The association sent a letter to Emmett in November asking him to substantially increase the amount of funds used from the toll road account for mobility projects throughout the county. The letter was signed by NHA President Jon Lindsay and Chairman Darrin Willer.

“Despite the slower economy, congestion continues to increase,” they wrote. “We believe the county should, at minimum, double the amount of funds spent on mobility projects from that account.”

The NHA did not cite any specific projects needing attention in the letter, but each Harris County precinct keeps track of priority projects.

Lindsay suggested the funding boost could cover road extensions and widenings as well as adding turn lanes at several major intersections.

“There are plenty of projects we could be doing if we had the money to do them,” Lindsay said.

Although the toll road fund in Harris County is used for non-toll road improvements, the fund’s main purposes are to pay off toll road debt, pay operating and maintenance costs and pay for improvement projects within the toll road system, Emmett said.

Toll road projects underway include widening portions of Beltway, building Hwy. 249 out to the Montgomery County line and extending the Hardy Toll Road downtown.

The Harris County Toll Road Authority’s long-term bond liabilities total $2.2 billion. Those debts are scheduled to be paid off in chunks each year through 2047, with no single year requiring more than $189 million in payments, according to the most recent financial statement released last February.

In fiscal year 2015-16, the authority brought in $824 million in total revenue and paid $423 million in expenses, according to the report.

The majority of revenue—roughly $759 million—comes from toll collections. Around $688 million in tolls were collected in the 2014-15 fiscal year, with total revenues at about $711 million.

The top expenses included maintenance and repair, paying off interest and paying salaries. Roughly $124 million was transferred into the county’s general mobility fund.

Emmett said he could not comment on whether the county would make a significant change in the amount of toll road revenue that gets transferred but said his financial team will look into the request and make a call before the start of FY 2017-18 beginning March 1.

“I’ll look into it as will the four county commissioners,” he said.

In the meantime, Lindsay said he has already discussed the proposal with three of the four county commissioners and is feeling hopeful.

“The sooner we commit, the sooner we can start acquiring right of way and the sooner our engineering teams can start planning,” he said. “The need is there.”