If you look over the article a little more closely, you will see that they will be raising the toll rates a great deal year over year, and those increases will be compounding, e.g. for a $10 toll which is increased (a minimum of) 2.5% each year, after a decade the toll will not be $12.50 but more like $12.80. And we are not talking a decade but 7.5 decades.
I didn't put all that in, because future toll increases and future costs will at the least offset each other.
As a rough, "back of the envelope" calculation, I would have thought it was pretty obvious that the costs to those using the Turnpike will be higher and the corporation will be making a boatload of money - all while the original bondholders were paid off years ago and the Turnpike was supposed to be returned to the taxpayers at that point.
Yeah, 2.5% or the rate of inflation.
and those increases will be compounding,
You bet.
I didn't put all that in, because future toll increases and future costs will at the least offset each other.
Sure.
As a rough, "back of the envelope" calculation, I would have thought it was pretty obvious that the costs to those using the Turnpike will be higher
Right, by 2.5% a year.
and the corporation will be making a boatload of money
I bet they will make money. Maybe big money. But to ignore their cost of capital and claim they'll earn back their investment in 30 years may be pushing it.
What if they borrowed at 6%? They need to clear $768 million, just to pay their annual interest. Should be easy, they're making $400 million a year in profit.
I live in Illinois, you don't have to tell me about getting screwed by corrupt tollway authorities.