by James A. Bacon
The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) is normally a pretty docile bunch, rubber stamping everything the McDonnell administration submits to it. So, when members pushed back Wednesday on a proposal to start tolling Interstate 95, it’s an indication that the Virginia Department of Transportation has a long slog ahead.
“I’ve been getting calls from trucking companies. They’d rather have a diesel fuel tax than a toll,” said Mark Peake, representative of the Lynchburg District — which doesn’t even touch I-95. “Some peoples’ ox is going to get gored,” added W. Sheppard Miller, urban at-large from Norfolk. Residents in places like Emporia who use the interstate for local traffic will be unfairly penalized, he said.
If there’s one thing every member of the CTB seems to agree on, it’s that the transportation system needs more money. Maintenance is consuming an ever-bigger slice of state revenues, and it’s only a matter of a few years before Virginia lacks sufficient tax revenues to provide the local match for federal funds. The General Assembly refuses to raise the gasoline tax, which leaves tolls as the only revenue source. But tolls, as CTB board members made cleare, pose ticklish problems as well.
As interstate highways age, their maintenance needs increase. According to a presentation by Michael Estes in the Virginia Highway Commissioner’s office, 80% of I-95’s bridges are 40 years or older and 72% of mainline pavement is in need of maintenance. By 2035, two-thirds of the highway will meet or exceed capacity and projected travel time will increase 40%. The highway is projected to receive $2.5 billion in funding over 25 years, leaving a gap of $9.6 billion.
Virginia and North Carolina have received permission from the Federal Highway Administration to toll I-95, and the two states are keeping each other informed about their tolling strategies, including the placement of booths. Under FHWA rules, toll revenues cannot be diverted to other projects but must be used “to make pavement, structural, operational, capacity and safety improvements throughout the corridor.
VDOT has analyzed several tolling alternatives. Under one scenario, the state would put up gantries at two locations, one north of Richmond and one south of Petersburg. Tolls would have to reach $0.53 per mile to close the funding gap. The problem is that the tolls would divert significant traffic to parallel roads, like U.S. 1. For now, said Estes, VDOT is requesting approval to initiate tolling at a rate of $0.02 per mile. Tolls potentially could raise $35 million yearly to $160 million yearly, depending upon the scenario.
Allen Louderback, a rural, at-large representative, also voiced skepticism, raising the specter of unintended consequences. How many trucks would shift to Interstate 81, he asked. The state may not raise as much money as it thinks it will.
Virginia’s trucking industry opposes tolls, said Dale Bennett, president of the Virginia trucking association. First, he said, tolls divert traffic. The problem was so bad in Ohio that the state had to pull tolls off the Ohio Turnpike. Second, tolls are inefficient: 38% of the revenue in the first six years would go to building and operating the system, and 11% after that. Third, interstate tolls would hurt Virginia’s reputation as a good place to do business. Truckers would prefer to hike the motor fuels tax.
But Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton defended tolls, at least in the abstract. Revenues from the motor fuels tax continues are losing ground as vehicles get better gas mileage. The federal government is in no position to give any more money. Tolls are about all that’s left. “Every state is looking at user fees. It’s a national phenomenon.”
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