The North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) maintains and operates toll road

Toll road

A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...

s, bridges and tunnels in the North Texas

North Texas

North Texas is a distinct cultural and geographic area forming the central-northeastern section of the U.S. state of Texas. North Texas is generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, and north of Waco...

 area. Functioning as a political subdivision of the State of Texas under Chapter 366 of the Transportation Code, the NTTA is empowered to acquire, construct, maintain, repair and operate turnpike projects; to raise capital for construction projects through the issuance of Turnpike Revenue Bonds; and to collect tolls to operate, maintain and pay debt service on those projects.

The NTTA is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors, two appointed by each of the four counties in its service area, and one appointed by the Texas Governor. It is a non-profit entity. It performs many of the same functions as the Texas Department of Transportation

Texas Department of Transportation

The Texas Department of Transportation is a governmental agency in the U.S. state of Texas. Its stated mission is to "work cooperatively to provide safe, effective and efficient movement of people and goods" throughout the state...

, but is limited solely to facilities that it operates for revenue.

The Authority's mission statement reads: "To provide a fiscally sound system of innovative toll facilities, services and solutions that improves the mobility, quality of life and economy of the North Texas region."

Current NTTA roadways

• Addison Airport Toll Tunnel
  Addison Airport Toll Tunnel
  The Addison Airport Toll Tunnel, also known as the Addison Airport Tunnel and the Addison Toll Tunnel, is part of the North Texas Tollway Authority system and extends Keller Springs Road under the Addison Airport property....
  
  
• Dallas North Tollway
  Dallas North Tollway
  The Dallas North Tollway is a controlled-access toll road operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority , which runs from Interstate 35E near downtown Dallas, Texas , to U.S...
  
  
• Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge
  Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge
  The Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge is a bridge crossing Lewisville Lake in Denton County, Texas, USA. The North Texas Tollway Authority worked cooperatively with Denton County to plan and design a toll bridge across the northwestern arm of Lewisville Lake. The new four-lane toll bridge connects...
  
  
• Mountain Creek Lake Bridge
  Mountain Creek Lake Bridge
  The Mountain Creek Lake Bridge is a bridge in Dallas County, Texas. The bridge is part of the North Texas Tollway Authority system. It is tolled in both directions and the lanes of the Mountain Creek Lake Bridge toll plaza are equipped for electronic toll collection via TollTag.The bridge...
  
  
• President George Bush Turnpike
  President George Bush Turnpike
  The President George Bush Turnpike is a 45.1-mile toll road running generally east–west through the northern suburbs of Dallas, Texas, United States. It is named for George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States...
  
  
• Sam Rayburn Tollway in Collin, Dallas and Denton Counties

Planned NTTA roadways or expansions

• Dallas North Tollway
  Dallas North Tollway
  The Dallas North Tollway is a controlled-access toll road operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority , which runs from Interstate 35E near downtown Dallas, Texas , to U.S...
  
   - Northern extension to the Grayson County
  Grayson County, Texas
  As of the census of 2000, there were 110,595 people, 42,849 households, and 30,208 families residing in the county. The population density was 118 people per square mile . There were 48,315 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile...
  
   line
• President George Bush Turnpike
  President George Bush Turnpike
  The President George Bush Turnpike is a 45.1-mile toll road running generally east–west through the northern suburbs of Dallas, Texas, United States. It is named for George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States...
  
   - Eastward extension to IH-30
• Southwest Parkway
  Southwest Parkway
  Chisholm Trail Parkway is a toll road planned to be operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority in Tarrant and Johnson counties connecting the central business district of the city of Fort Worth at to ....
  
  
• Trinity Parkway
  Trinity Parkway
  The Trinity Parkway is a controversial proposed six-lane toll road in Dallas, Texas to run from the State Highway 183/Interstate 35E juncture to U.S. Highway 175/Interstate 45. The Dallas City Council voted 14-1 to support a parkway inside the eastern levee of the Trinity River...
  
  

NTTA history

NTTA began in 1953 as a state agency, the Texas Turnpike Authority (TTA).

TTA would begin construction on the state's first toll road, the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike, in 1955 and would open the road in 1957. Original plans were for the bonds on the Turnpike to be retired in 1995; however, the bonds were retired in 1977 (17 years ahead of schedule) and tolls were then removed from the road, which the next year was officially designated as Interstate 30.

NTTA's oldest existing toll road, the Dallas North Tollway

Dallas North Tollway

The Dallas North Tollway is a controlled-access toll road operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority , which runs from Interstate 35E near downtown Dallas, Texas , to U.S...

, would begin construction in 1966 and open its first segment (from Interstate 35E to Interstate 635) in 1968. The Tollway (as it is popularly known) has (along with general Dallas-area growth) expanded continually northward, opening extensions in 1987, 1994, and most recently in 2008.

TTA started construction in 1977 on its first toll bridge, the 2.5 miles (4 km) Mountain Creek Lake Bridge

Mountain Creek Lake Bridge

The Mountain Creek Lake Bridge is a bridge in Dallas County, Texas. The bridge is part of the North Texas Tollway Authority system. It is tolled in both directions and the lanes of the Mountain Creek Lake Bridge toll plaza are equipped for electronic toll collection via TollTag.The bridge...

, which would open in 1979. The bridge spans Mountain Creek Lake

Mountain Creek Lake

Mountain Creek Lake is a reservoir located southwest of downtown Dallas, Texas in the Mountain Creek area of the city. It is located south of SH 180, west of Spur 408, north of I-20, and east of FM 1382. The defunct Naval Air Station Dallas is located on the northwestern shore of the lake...

 in the southwestern Dallas County

Dallas County, Texas

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,218,899 people, 807,621 households, and 533,837 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,523 people per square mile . There were 854,119 housing units at an average density of 971/sq mi...

 city of Grand Prairie

Grand Prairie, Texas

Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Ellis, and Tarrant counties in the U.S. state of Texas and is a part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Grand Prairie is a suburb of both Dallas and Fort Worth and had a population of 175,396 at the 2010 census.- History :The city of...

.

TTA's only project outside the area, the Jesse Jones Memorial Bridge

Sam Houston Ship Channel Bridge

Sam Houston Tollway Ship Channel Bridge is a bridge in Harris County, Texas. It was acquired from the-then Texas Turnpike Authority on May 5, 1994 and is now a part of the Harris County Toll Road Authority system. The bridge opened to traffic in May 1982...

 across the Houston Ship Channel, would start construction on the 2.0-mile (3.2 km) bridge began in 1979 and open in 1982. TTA would later sell the bridge in 1994 to the newly-created Harris County Toll Road Authority

Harris County Toll Road Authority

The Harris County Toll Road Authority maintains and operates a toll road system in the Houston/Harris County area...

.

TTA would cease as a state entity in 1997 with the creation of the current NTTA.

Criticism

In August 2010, the NTTA faced criticism by replacing the only minority member of the board - making the nine-member board all white and all male.

A multi-year audit released in October 2011 stated that the NTTA had inappropriate discussions with consultants while they were in the midst of bidding on lucrative Tollway contracts, as well as not having a firmly defined code of corporate ethics.