So Metro set out to build separate HOV lanes in freeway median strips in the 1980s. The Hardy Toll Road opened in 1987-88. Despite grand predictions, it has been a money-loser, propped up financially by the wildly successful Sam Houston Tollway. If the Hardy connected all the way to downtown Houston, the number might rise by another 20,000, said Wesley Freise, executive director of the Harris County Toll Road Authority. The people who choose to use the Hardy are commuters.
Truckers are vehemently opposed to using toll roads.
North move more quickly during rush hour. The average inbound speed from FM 1488 to the McKinney exit into downtown last year was 45 mph, according to the Texas Transportation Institute. The trip home was 46 mph. They are a connection for the Interstate 10-West HOV lane into downtown.