The problem with “toll roads” is that they are “never” paid off. I wonder what they do with the tolls they collect on roads that have long ago been paid off.
The tolls are leveraged ten-to-one for the issuance of revenue bonds dedicated to maintenance of the toll road or to new projects. Many toll authorities are authorized to exist in perpetuity and are not required to shut down when the bonds are paid off.
Yep. The moment the Ohio Turnpike (the only toll road here, fortunately) was paid off, the turnpike commission went through several backflips to prove that they were allowed to keep collecting tolls for maintenance and long term improvements.