[1] HCTRA came into being in September 1983 after Harris County voters approved a $900 million bond referendum by a 7–3 margin to release up to $900 million in bonds to create two toll roads – the Hardy Toll Road and the Sam Houston Tollway – to improve the regional mobility and reduce traffic congestion in the Greater Houston area, an area known for rapid population growth.
[2] The need for a county-run toll road system came from TxDOT's budget shortfall and its inability to authorize funding to upgrade the second loop around the city, Beltway 8, which had been on planning maps since the 1950s.
Then-County Judge Jon Lindsay is generally credited with shepherding the referendum from its infancy to its passage, along with the implementation of the plan for the roadway.
While for many years, the Hardy Toll Road never had the traffic that the HCTRA envisioned it would need to turn a profit, the Sam Houston Tollway has more than made up for the lost revenue.
The Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority (FBCTRA) operates the westernmost 8 miles (12.9 km) of the tollway.
The Tomball Tollway consists of a 7.5-mile (12.1 km) segment of three toll lanes in each direction from Spring Cypress Road up to Sentinel Oaks in Pinehurst.
[6][7] This 4-mile (6.4 km) long project will provide a connection between Downtown Houston and the current terminus of the Hardy Toll Road at I-610.
To relieve congestion on surface streets, direct connectors between Hardy Toll Road and Beltway 8 will be constructed.
[12] The planned project would have added four tolled lanes along the Hempstead Highway corridor between I-610 and the future Grand Parkway (SH 99) northwest segment.
The project was one component of the complete US 290 corridor upgrade by TxDOT, which also included added capacity to US 290, a new HOV system parallel to the Hempstead Highway, and a possible commuter rail line in conjunction with METRO.
[13] Although both of them are located within Montgomery County and were at the time owned and operated by Montgomery County Toll Road Authority (MCTRA), HCTRA formerly collected tolls for MCTRA for two flyover ramps: one from northbound I-45 to SH 242 westbound and the other from westbound SH 242 to I-45 southbound near The Woodlands.
Both ramps solely utilized electronic toll collection, and required drivers to own an EZ TAG, TollTag or TxTag transponder.
After a unanimous vote by the Montgomery County Commissioners Court on May 28, 2019, the tolls were lifted, and ownership and maintenance of both flyover ramps were transferred to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
The route would begin at I-69/US 59 just south of Midtown and terminate at the intersection of the proposed Grand Parkway (SH 99) for a total length of 26 miles (41.8 km).