Toll 49 Segment 5 Opens

SMITH COUNTY — The Texas Department of Transportation opens Segment 5 of Toll Road 49 to traffic today in time for the evening rush. As part of the opening, there are new traffic signals in effect at Toll 49 and State Highway 110 north of Whitehouse, and at Farm Road 2964 (Rhones Quarter). The segment connects with existing Toll 49 at Farm Road 756 (Paluxy Drive), which runs west to State Highway 155 (Frankston Highway), where Segment 3A is still under construction and expected to be open by the end of October. “It’s an exciting time for us, and for East Texas,” said TxDOT spokesman Larry Krantz. “We’re finally starting to realize the potential this project promised when we opened the first segment.”

Toll 49 opened its first segment, between U.S. Highway 69 and SH 155, in August 2006. Segment 2 extended the toll road to FM 756 in January 2008. Once segments 3A and 5 are open, Toll 49 will stretch approximately 16 miles between SH 31 west of Tyler and SH 110 southeast of Tyler, essentially from Chandler to Whitehouse. Electronic toll collection on Segment 5 will begin in August. “In the meantime,” Krantz added, “It’s free to drive on Toll 49 between SH 110 and FM 756 (Paluxy Drive). Once tolling begins, it will cost 25 cents with a TxTAG to drive the new segment.” Segment 3B of Toll 49, which will connect SH 31 west of Tyler and IH 20 near Hide-A-Way Lake, is scheduled to open by the end of 2013, according to the North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority (NETRMA), which is overseeing its construction.