North Carolina has not reached a decision on whether it will toll Interstate 95 but is studying how to fund badly needed improvements, a state Department of Transportation expert said today.
To make those improvements to the state’s 182 miles of interstate will take $5 billion, said Roberto Canales, coordinator of strategic initiatives for the department. “The real question is where the $5 billion will come from. There have been no significant changes to I-95. For the most part it’s designed as a 1950s interstate,” he told a gathering of chamber officials, members and interested citizens.
The only thing that is clear, Canales said, is tolling at the borders is not a great idea and if North Carolina does get permission it would likely be automated toll equipment spaced 20 miles apart that could generate $260 million to $270 million a year.
Public meetings on the issue are expected to begin in July or August.
Unlike Virginia, Canales said North Carolina has the authority to study tolling of all interstates. “We have to come back with a tolling plan. All this has to work out before we can start.”
On Virginia’s plans, Canales said North Carolina has offered to work with that state’s officials.
If federal authorities agreed to allow North Carolina to toll, there is the potential it could happen in 2012-2013 but would probably be more like 2014-2016.
Anitra Collins of KapStone told Canales local industry would be hit hard by tolling. “We’re the ones trying to get raw materials in and out.”
Halifax County Commissioner Rives Manning said people traveling south in Virginia have an option. “They’ve got a unique situation at Petersburg. They can go Interstate 85 and there are no tolls. If you toll all I’ll buy into it. The equity of tolls should be shared across the state.”
A recent statement from department Secretary Gene Conti said The N.C. Department of Transportation looks forward to working with Virginia in exploring options for improving the I-95 corridor.
Both North Carolina and Virginia were part of the Corridors of the Future Program, which brought together five states in the Southeast to cooperatively examine how to upgrade, modernize and improve the corridor from Virginia to Florida – with a sensitivity to the benefits and impacts on each of the partner states.
North Carolina last year began a two-year study to evaluate the needs of the 182-mile corridor from Virginia to South Carolina, define and prioritize necessary improvements, and identify ways to fund those improvements. Tolling is among the options under consideration. The study considers tolling at both borders and points between, and will take into consideration through-state traffic, as well as local-only usage.
The study will include revenue-sharing options among the states along the corridor. The study already has involved extensive consultation with local officials in communities along I-95, and there is plenty of opportunity for citizen input into the planning. The study is expected to be completed by the fall of 2011. North Carolina also has made considerable progress on the environmental, financing and operational planning for the project.
For more information about the North Carolina I-95 study, visit www.driving95.com.
