N.C. Toll Plazas Could Be Down Road For I-95 Travelers

WRAL-TV - (Raleigh, NC) ^

[NCjim]

State transportation officials said they need to start charging drivers who use Interstate 95, one of the most heavily traveled interstates on the East Coast.

Officials want to install six toll plazas along the interstate in North Carolina. Officials propose to charge $3 at each plaza, which means it could cost $18 to travel in North Carolina on I-95 from the Virginia border to South Carolina.

[NCjim]

It would probably be good for them. They lost a lot of business when I-95 replaced US 301 as the primary north-south route. I can see US 301 traffic increasing for shorter trips but there is far too much stop and go to take it from Virginia to South Carolina.

[mrsmith]

Dumbest thing we ever did to take the tolls off of the R-P turnpike. It was a state money-machine, better than a hundred speed traps.

Locals bought token books for 1/6 of the price charged those just passing through.
But Richmond thought it was losing business to 295! LOL!

[billbears]

It's not even funny anymore. Lived there for seven years myself. The price of land in 1990 vs the price of land less than 10 years later was ridiculous. Last time I checked half acre lots were going for $30,000 and up. And considering the 'fine' state of affairs in WNC as of late with all the mill closings, the locals can hardly find a good paying job anymore. So who do you think the land goes to?

Do you think these New Yorkers care? They've bought the houses, land, and whatever you do, don't head over past WCU. Cashiers and Highlands are just two toursit spots now stuck out in the middle of nowhere

[oceanview]

Was that always the case? I guess I never noticed them because they stay on 95 to avoid the toll.

[NCjim]

What kills me is what they are doing to the mountain tops. On I-40 once you get past Morganton, you can see how they've scalped the trees to give themselves a view. And you are right about the Cashiers/Highlands area. One big tourist trap!

I guess that Thomas Wolfe got it right when he said you can't go home again!

[oldironsides]

I have been paying New Jersey Turnpike fees for years. I also pay in Maryland. North Carolina has as much right to have a toll on I-95 as NJ.

[oceanview]

except they won't be exit tolls, they will be barrier tolls in NC on I95, causing traffic to be impeded just like on the garden state pkwy. the toll plazas on the GSP cause many deaths each year. anytime you introduce anything onto the road to cause everybody to stop, and then race to speed up again and gain "lane supremacy", accidents will rise significantly.

[I still care]

But it only costs around $4- $6 depending where you get off. $18 is big change.

That adds $36 to a round trip through NC, while I already stop there on to sleep at a hotel in Fayetteville, usually.

It think it is a losing proposition for NC. It would definately make it more likely for me to fly, and then they would lose my motel fee.

[XRdsRev]

NJ doesn't charge you $18 to drive the length of the state. I think they get about $5 or $6 on the Turnpike from end to end (120+ miles). North Carolina should be ashamed of themselves.....crooks.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

They are now called "toll plazas?" Gads...or is it "Gag."

[Hatteras]

"Just what we needed - more flat-landers!"

Is it really true that all ya'll have one leg longer than than the other?

[Iowa Granny]

Interesting. I thought the Federal Gubbermint had control of the Interstate Hwys.

[NCjim]

That would be the cows on the side of the mountain. :-)

We are best known for getting our corn from a jar.

[Koblenz]

Putting tolls at six places in the state is silly. Tolls are optimal if there are booths at the entrances/exits. And at the state line, make sure you've got a lot of booths.

I don't mind tolls. I mind traffic jams. Time is money (I'm an independent consultant, and my time on the highway is time not doint work for a client). Traffic jams cost me a lot more than tolls.

I say put tolls on the road to limit congestion. There's only a limited amount of highway space. In most cases, there are three lanes, and each lane can carry only a certain number of cars before there's a traffic jam. So to make tolls effective, the tolls have to vary by time of day. This way, you'll encourage people to drive at different times. In a sense, you put a market incentive in place to make people change their behavior. The government in effect rents out the highway, with different amounts for different times of day.

Movie theatres charges less for matinees. Why shouldn't highways be the same?

[logician2u]

In a sense, you put a market incentive in place . .

Don't expect a whole lot of FReepers to understand this concept, as simple as it is.

The responses so far on this thread are no doubt typical. We'd see similar comments over at DU, except they'd blame Bush or Elizabeth Dole. ("Toll Dole" -- can't you see it?)

As the number of people calling themselves conservatives increases, economic literacy seems to be declining almost in proportion.

[Wampus SC]

I haven't been on 301 in years. I wonder if the Horne's in Kenly is still there? Wonder if the girl that made the world's best milkshakes is still as pretty? Will the Enfield light still back up traffic all the way to Petersburg? :)

[ml/nj]

I have been paying New Jersey Turnpike fees for years. I also pay in Maryland. North Carolina has as much right to have a toll on I-95 as NJ.

The NJ Tpk predates the Interstate Highway System, and I would guess the highways in Maryland do too. Such roads were not (originally) built with Federal funds. The people in Idaho paid for those roads in North Carolina, just as much as the people in North Carolina did. Are you going to send them a portion of the proceeds?

ML/NJ

[Grit]

Movie theatres charges less for matinees. Why shouldn't highways be the same?

Gasoline Tax Rates by State

State	Tax/Cents per gallon	State	Tax/Cents per gallon
Alabama	18	Montana	27
Alaska	8	Nebraska	24.6
Arizona	18	Nevada	24.75
Arkansas	18.6	New Hampshire	19.5
California	18	New Jersey	10.5
Colorado	22	New Mexico	18.875
Connecticut	36	New York	22.65
Delaware	23	North Carolina	22.3
Dist. of Columbia	20	North Dakota	20
Florida	13	Ohio	22
Georgia	7.5	Oklahoma	17
Hawaii	16	Oregon	24
Idaho	25	Pennsylvania	25.9
Illinois	19	Rhode Island	29
Indiana	15	South Carolina	16.0
Iowa	20	South Dakota	20
Kansas	18	Tennessee	20
Kentucky	16.4	Texas	20
Louisiana	20	Utah	24.5
Maine	19	Vermont	20
Maryland	23.5	Virginia	17.5
Massachusetts	21	Washington	23
Michigan	19	West Virginia	25.35
Minnesota	20	Wisconsin	23.8
Mississippi	18.4	Wyoming	9
Missouri	17	Federal Tax Rate	18.4

[Grit]

I say put tolls on the road to limit congestion. commerce.

This way, you'll encourage people to drive at different times.

Why do you drive when there are traffic jams?

In a sense, you put a market incentive in place to make people change their behavior.

That always works. :)

The government in effect rents out the highway, with different amounts for different times of day.

Take the gov't out of it, then you'll have a free market solution.

[Grit]

A few quick calculations:

Using Federal $0.184 /gal and NC $0.224 /gal travelling the 179.76 miles of I-95 costs : $3.05 (assuming 24 mpg)


$3.05 before tolls

$21.05 after tolls