Most Texans love their cars and would welcome the opportunity to drive on any state highway without paying a toll.

State lawmakers have gotten the message from frustrated motorists who think the state has become too reliant on toll roads to alleviate traffic congestion. They responded by asking the Texas Department of Transportation to determine how much it would cost to remove tolls on state highways.

The estimated price tag would be at least $24.23 billion and increasing, TxDOT Executive Director James Bass told lawmakers this week.

Given the staggering expense and that some drivers actually don't mind paying tolls to hasten their travel times, lawmakers appeared content to look at the possibility of eventually scrapping some tollways and considering alternatives before building more of them.

The state oversees about 230 miles of the roughly 700 miles of toll roads around Texas.

Currently, 150 more miles of tollway are under construction around the state, mostly in the Houston, Dallas and Austin areas.

'The last choice'

In the Houston area, TxDOT oversees the Grand Parkway, now some 54 miles in length. Bass said eliminating tolls on Houston's Grand Parkway, with a total payment on Jan. 1, 2017, would cost an estimated $3.6 billion, about $400 million more than officials borrowed to develop and build the project.

Though a huge cost the state is unlikely to absorb in the near term, Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said some tolls could be removed sooner, if there is a way to commit the funds.

For example, Camino Colombia, a 22-mile tollway from the Mexican border to Interstate 35 North in Laredo, is a possibility, he said. Adding that stretch to the maintenance needs around the state — TxDOT maintains about 82,000 miles of highway — would be insignificant, Pickett said.

"I think you would agree, all things considered, people would prefer not to have toll roads," Rep. Ron Simmons, R-Carrollton, said, but added he still supported tolls as a way to build roads. "I do believe tolling should probably be the last choice."

Pickett said he also was concerned new and upcoming tollways that rely on managed lanes — meaning lanes with restricted use to improve traffic flow — along existing highways essentially set up a highway system for the rich, and leave others stuck in traffic.

"Managed lanes create winners and losers," Pickett said. "There will be people who will be able to keep on a time schedule. ... Some of these managed lanes are going to keep the majority of travelers congested."

Change going forward

Bass, meanwhile, said his estimate to remove all tolls on state roads was based on outstanding debt and additional costs related to buying back bonds sold to build toll roads as of the beginning of 2016. The final total cost would change depending on exactly when the highways are paid off plus additional accrued bond interest.

State lawmakers requested the estimate because they wanted a financial baseline to start with, as they balance dealing opposition to tollways and the need for some toll revenue to build roads.

"Part of this process, in my mind, is changing going forward," Pickett said.

To help with that effort, TxDOT was expected to issue a final report on the toll matter to state lawmakers Thursday, detailing how much has been borrowed and what it would cost over the coming decades to remove tolls from specific Texas highways. Many of the toll roads are maintained and built by local entities, such as the Harris County Toll Road Authority.

Still, some lawmakers defended toll roads as providing relief from traffic gridlock.

"I have got nothing but positive feedback from my community," said Rep. Allen Fletcher, R-Tomball, who represents some of the northwest Harris County area where the newest segments of the Grand Parkway opened in February.

According to the latest statements filed related to the bonds used to build the Grand Parkway, use is surging on the parkway. Since it grew from 15 miles to 54 miles as of March, the number of transactions along the parkway — the number of times a single vehicle passed a toll gantry — quadrupled, based on June figures. Officials reported 9.4 million transactions in June. For fiscal 2016, which ends Wednesday, through June the tollway had raised $54.2 million from tolls, $19.2 million more than officials had estimated.

Return to 'great system'

In addition to the Grand Parkway, Fletcher said, new toll lanes along Texas 249 and a direct connection with the Sam Houston Tollway have improved travel times in the region. The popularity of all the new tollways, Fletcher said, shows people want traffic relief, even at a price.

"Time is money, and it means something to the community," he said.

Weaning the state off tolls would mean a hit for TxDOT's bottom line, but critics of the toll lanes said it is a worthwhile goal.

"We're trying to get back to that great system that we had," Don Dixon, a retired San Antonio engineer told lawmakers in March. Recalling the road building of the mid-20th century that helped connect much of Texas, Dixon said: "Get rid of the debt and get rid of the tolls and have a low-cost system that everybody can benefit from."

That sounds wonderful, state Rep. Larry Phillips, R-Sherman, said, adding: "Let's just find out how to pay for it. That's what I want to know."