The Texas Transportation Commission gave approval Thursday to the idea of 80 potential toll roads in the state.

One of those roads could be in Texarkana.

The road in question would stretch from U.S. Highway 59 near the Sulphur River and Farm to Market Road 2148 to an area west of Texarkana and then loop around north of Texarkana and meet up with U.S. Highway 71.

The highway would be four lanes and the estimated cost comes in at around $340.5 million.

Local officials say the road is needed, but the problem is how to pay for it.

That’s where the toll road idea comes in.

In such a scenario, local governments or regional transportation agencies would have first crack at putting together a package to tackle planning and building the roads.

If they can’t find the money, the state would step in.

The money could come from traditional sources, such as a bond issue.

But private financing is also an option.

The private company financing the road wouldn’t own it. It would still be in public hands. And the government would collect the tolls, which would be used initially to repay the financing and interest.

That means the taxpayers would be on the hook should tolls not produce enough revenue to repay such financing.

Of course, one could say the same about a bond issue.

The idea of having those who use a road pay the cost of building that road may be novel for this area, but it’s nothing new. There are toll roads all over the nation.

There are a couple of things to consider however.

One is: Will the road produce enough revenue to retire the debt? If not, that money will have to come from somewhere.

The second is: How long will the road remain a toll road?

Once the road is paid for, will the powers that be then stop collecting tolls; will tolls be used for continued maintenance; or will they just continue to collect that money and use it as they see fit?

We will reserve opinion on this idea until we see more details.

So should local officials.