| State: | TX |
| Type: | Toll |
| Route: | Hardy |
| Map Custom: | yes |
| Map Notes: | Hardy Toll Road highlighted in red; Hardy Toll Road Airport Connector in blue |
| Length Mi: | 21.6 |
| Established: | 1988 |
| Direction A: | South |
| Terminus A: | in Houston |
| Junction: | at Aldine at Spring |
| Direction B: | North |
| Terminus B: | at Spring |
| Counties: | Harris |
The Hardy Toll Road is a controlled-access toll road in the Greater Houston area of the U.S. state of Texas, maintained by the Harris County Toll Road Authority. The route runs from Interstate 610 near central Houston to Interstate 45 just south of the Harris–Montgomery county line. The road generally parallels Interstate 45. The portion from I-610 to Crosstimbers Road was designated on September 26, 1984 as Spur 548, although this is unsigned.[1] [2]
Construction on the toll road started in September 1984 and the entire road was complete by June 1988.[3] The toll road runs 21.6miles and costs $3 to drive its full length ($1.50 north of Beltway 8 and $1.50 south of Beltway 8). A four-mile (6 km) connecting road to the George Bush Intercontinental Airport requires a $1.20 toll. As of July 18, 2016, the Hardy Toll Road discontinued cash tolling and made the switch to all-electronic tolling. All drivers must now use an EZ TAG to access the toll road.[4]
The road is named for nearby Hardy Street, which makes up the frontage roads for the toll road in two locations: between Spring Railroad Yard and FM 1960, and between Greens Road and Crosstimbers Road.
A large portion of the southern segment resembles Austin's Mopac Expressway in that an active line of the Union Pacific railroad runs along its median. Like other toll roads in the Houston area, the speed limit is 65mi/h, even inside Beltway 8.
Future plans are to extend the toll road south an additional four miles (6 km) into downtown Houston (the northernmost mile marker is 25, though the current road is only 21.6miles long). In November 2007 the city of Houston gave approval for street closures required to construct the connections to the downtown freeway loop. Originally, construction was scheduled to start in August 2009 with completion sometime in 2011; however, this has been delayed. It is expected that the toll road will deviate from Hardy Street south of I-610 and follow Maury Street [5] to connect with the Eastex Freeway near I-10,[6] as part of the ramp connections have already been built.[7]
Construction on the Hardy Toll Road Downtown connector began in 2014.[8]
Because the population of Montgomery County experienced quick growth, the need for a northward extension was evaluated. Originally, the plan was to construct the extension along the right-of-way for the railroad. However, recent growth in Oak Ridge North requires that the Hardy Toll Road extension deviate from this right-of-way in places. Feasibility studies have evaluated possible routes between FM 1314 and the San Jacinto River, with the northern terminus planned to be at Loop 336. no plans for construction had been formulated.[9]
The following are the number of mainlanes in each direction, as of May 2017: