More Tolls May Come to North Carolina

February 17, 2012 by Matt Keegan

Tarheel State may place tolls on I-95.

Drivers in the northeast, in California and in other congested areas of the country are used to paying tolls. Whether they like to do so or not is another matter. Bridges, tunnels and roadways are tolled in these areas, adding yet another expense to consumer’s pockets. The state of North Carolina has been relatively toll-free until the Triangle Expressway near Raleigh began charging drivers who use this road as of January.

Tolling I-95

Now a move is underfoot to toll the North Carolina portion of Interstate 95. The state is looking to pour $4.5 billion to update its 182-mile portion of the interstate, money it may raise by charging tolls. The proposed toll, however, is raising eyebrows in a state where the only previous tolls collected were on its ferry system connecting the communities along the coast. The I-95 toll would be $19 reports NBC17.com.

Talk of tolling I-95 has surfaced in recent years as states seek to plug budget deficits and raise revenue to handle proposed projects. The state of Virginia which had tolls on I-95, but removed them, toyed with the idea in 2006 of placing toll booths at the N.C. border and charging drivers $5 per car. More recently, the Old Dominion State has received approval from the Federal Highway Administration to construct a pair of toll plazas from Fredericksburg to the North Carolina line, charging $2 to $4 per car and $10 or more for tractor trailers.

Transponder Sales

Placing tolls along roadways in North Carolina has received a mixed reaction from state residents. When the Triangle Expressway was preparing to become a toll road, DOT officials sent out notices to area residents inviting them to buy transponders that would electronically record their trips on the roadway and charge their accounts. The DOT expected to sell 2,700 transponders by June 2012, but sold 9,300 by the end of January reports WRAL. The Triangle Expressway is a 3.5-mile connector between I-40 and N.C. Highway 147 in Durham County and will eventually stretch 18.8 miles connecting south to N.C. Highway 55 in Holly Springs.

But, tolling I-95 has some people worried, especially those who rely on tourists to sustain them. Adding as much as $19 to the cost of traveling may cause some people to rethink their travel plans, a cost that comes on top of near $4 per gallon gasoline prices.

Proposed Improvements

The improvements proposed to I-95 would include widening the highway to eight lanes in some areas and six in others. At present, the N.C. stretch of I-95 is a four-lane highway. The DOT would also like to upgrade select ramps, relocate and realign numerous service roads and replace 108 bridges.