The Montgomery County Toll Road Authority convened during this morning's meeting of Montgomery County Commissioners Court to discuss financing for the county's portion of the Hwy. 249 toll road extension.

While the project has been estimated to be complete by 2020, commissioners have disagreed on whether the Montgomery County portion should be tolled and construction contacts have not yet been awarded. Montgomery County's portion of the road is expected to be funded through revenue bonds.

The road is a joint project between the Harris County Toll Road Authority, the Texas Department of Transportation and MCTRA. MCTRA’s portion, estimated to cost $63 million, stretches 3.6 miles from just north of Spring Creek to FM 149.

Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal said, while he has asked TxDOT if they would be willing to build the project without tolls, he was told the project would remain tolled and would take longer to build than if it was partially funded and constructed by the county.

"I stood before the highway commission. I said 'I would gladly turn this road over [to TxDOT] if you can build this as a free road,'" Doyal said.

Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack said he believes the court should go back to TxDOT with support from local legislators to renegotiate how the road will be funded.

In a statement from Noack's office yesterday, the commissioner announced he would call for a petition to put the construction of the road to a vote. Although the use of revenue bonds does not require voter approval, Noack said if a petition on the matter is signed by 10 percent of all qualified countywide voters, the matter can be placed on a referendum and put to a vote.

“I am preparing to do all I can to force this to a vote should MCTRA cite transportation code 284
to issue this debt. This is my call to action to make sure the voices of taxpayers in Montgomery
County are heard,” Noack said in statement. “I will need everyone’s support in order to make
this happen.”

Commissioners heard a presentation from staff with Post Oak Municipal Advisors on how the project would be funded as well as when the county can expect to have the bonds repaid in full. According to Post Oak, should the road be tolled, the road could be paid off as soon as 2029, at which point the county has the authority to reduce or remove tolls on Montgomery County's portion.

Financing for the road has not been finalized, and the item is expected to be discussed again at the April 24 Commissioners Court meeting.