Pricey toll fee means less cardiac rehab for Keller man

   

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Shane Hardin quit going to necessary cardiac rehab because his tollway bills were piling up.

Why This Story Matters
Millions of Texans rely on toll roads daily in a state that has built more paid thoroughfares over the past two decades than almost all U.S. states combined. The affordability, safety and management of these roads impact us all, especially as some leaders admit more are likely coming to handle substantial growth throughout the state and in North Texas.

Hardin, a 46-year-old construction manager and father of two teenage girls who lives in Keller, rushed into emergency quintuple bypass surgery on Nov. 17, 2021, after a routine angiogram revealed several arteries clogged by at least 70% and one by 90%.

Once home, immediately after surgery, his routine included harried early morning drives on the TEXpress lanes to cardiac rehab in Euless three times a week. Then he had to head to work in Flower Mound.

The cost of the rehab trips on Interstate 35W to Interstate 820 to State Highway 121 North varied, depending on how congested the free lanes were, Hardin recalled. But he wanted to make it to rehab and still make it to work on time. He admits he was confused by the changing costs on signs ― sometimes they seemed to flip from one moment to the next.

Shane Hardin, who paid hundreds of dollars in tolls just to get to cardiac rehab,...
Shane Hardin, who paid hundreds of dollars in tolls just to get to cardiac rehab, photographed on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, in Justin, Texas. The cost was so high to travel that he cut short his rehab.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)

After several months of rehab trips from late November to April, he reviewed his credit card statement and was shocked. He calculated that he had been charged $750 in tolls.

That meant his cardiac visits shot up to more than $3,500, including tolls, rehab and doctor appointments.

“Oh my God, that’s like $40 to $50 a day on tolls,” he said.

Hardin counts himself fortunate that he paid his tolls with a credit card. Had his toll tag been connected to his family’s checking account, it might have wiped them out.