By Gordon Dickson
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Texans are increasingly borrowing from their children to pay for the roads they are using today.
Unable to persuade lawmakers to raise gas taxes or vehicle registration fees, the Texas Department of Transportation is going deep into debt to build roads and keep up with the state’s explosive growth.
Since 2001, legislators and voters statewide have allowed the department to use a variety of new tools to speed up road work. That eased traffic congestion in the short term — but now nearly $1 billion of the agency’s roughly $8 billion annual budget goes to debt service.