Wherever you see a toll road still in existence, chances are good its original cost has been recouped. In some older eastern seaboard areas, several times over.
One question I always ask about any proponent of toll roads is “can you give me specific example of any case where tolls have ever gone down, particularly for ones where they have been paid for multiple times.” They invariably cannot.
They are an excuse for building a new convenient road and then they mutate into jobs programs and slush funds for politicians. You can see how differing political areas deal with responsibilities (i.e., how much graft and greed there is) by the disrepair on sections of I-285 in Atlanta, for example.
I agree with you about some toll roads not being traveled. The ones I’ve seen around Denver are a good, good example. An excuse for largess to government cloaked in supposed convenience.
When he was our Governor, Fast Eddie Rendell tried to cram down a scheme to throw toll booths up on I-80 so that he could fund his transportation boondoggles with money from those of you who are only passing through PA.
An idea so incredibly illegal, even the Obama Administration could not finagle a way to make it happen.