Tyler Morning Telegraph reports, “Although Loop 49 may be the only toll road regularly traveled by some East Texans, . . . Sen. Robert Nichols [R-District 3, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee] said toll roads are something everyone in the region and the state should appreciate. ‘I hear people say, “I’d rather drive on a free road than a toll road,” Nichols said. ‘Well there is no such thing as a free road. You’re either using tax money, which is hard to come by, or you’re going to charge somebody for actually using a new road.’” The senator spread the tolling gospel to the Tyler Area Builders Association.
