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Wednesday, 18 August 2010 16:53

KapStone says no to tolling


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Mill from the river. Mill from the river. Contributed photo

Tolling Interstate 95 would raise transportation costs for KapStone and other companies along the highway, the paper company’s vice president of mill operations said in a statement requested by rrspin.com.

“While we appreciate the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s efforts  to improve the I-95 corridor, we are concerned that tolling I-95 will have a negative impact on commerce, tourism and economic development,” Anitra Collins said in the statement.
Collins said being close to the corridor is a major competitive advantage for the company, which allows cost effective transportation of raw materials and finished goods. “Tolling would significantly increase KapStone’s transportation costs as well as many other companies along the I-95 corridor at a very critical time as businesses are trying to recover from the effects of the recession and compete globally.”
Collins notes in the statement, on an average, more than 1,700 wood fiber trucks enter KapStone’s gates each week. “In addition to the wood trucks, we use trucks to ship our finished goods to customers and to receive needed supplies like chemicals.”
Toll roads, Collins said, would increase the cost of doing business with companies along the I-95 corridor and put the company at a disadvantage in the marketplace. “Additionally, to toll I-95 and not toll I-85 or I-40, disadvantages the eastern portion of the state commercially and could drive travelers and tourists away from this area, reducing the tax base and revenue for the Roanoke Valley.”
A statement from the company was requested by rrspin.com during Monday’s forum held by the state on funding improvements to the interstate, which could possibly include tolling.
“It’s not set in stone,” said Kristine O’Conner, project planning engineer with the department at the meeting Monday.
O’Connor did say tolling is one of the funding options to improve the interstate but before funding is considered, a two-year study on the conditions of the highway must be considered first.
Following the traffic study, the funding study would be done and then the state would do a tolling study.

Last modified on Friday, 20 August 2010 00:48
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Published in News from Roanoke Rapids, Weldon and Halifax County
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