[GonzoGOP]

Clearly there is a fuel price at which point shipping will be constrained via truck. And ebay and amazon will close shop sometime before then.

No they will just ship interstate on Warren Buffett's railroad. Now I'm all for rail/truck competition. I just don't like the government being a player. Every time the government gets involved things go to heck. Every one of the western railroads built with land grants from the government went bust. Only the Great Northern, built entirely with private money, avoided going bankrupt. They built track where it wasn't needed just to get the grants, and then couldn't afford to maintain and operate the meandering lines.

Any taxes on gas or tolls should go to maintain the roads. Nothing more.

[sam_paine]

That’s what I said!

At some point, fuel prices will make shipping via truck ineffective. The assertion made by hinckley buzzard that the highways will always be worth the investment is not necessarily true, as I think you and I would agree.

[BobL]

“Any taxes on gas or tolls should go to maintain the roads. Nothing more.”

That NEVER happens, so stop wishing for it. Auto drivers are a “Revenue Engine” in the lingo of transportation planners.

In Pennsylvania, they wanted to put toll booths on I-80...but there was a deal with the feds - all the money had to go to that highway to maintain it. The PA government said NO DEAL, they intended the tolls to pay for public transportation in Philadelphia (along with the highway) - for they knew full-well they could collect in tolls TEN TIMES what it cost to keep the highway maintained.

To their credit, the Obama Administration told them to shove it, and I-80 remains a freeway (for now).