America’s Interstates Could Become Toll Roads

The door has been opened to allow states to collect tolls on interstate highways.

The Obama Administration has presented a proposal for a four-year, $302 billion White House transportation bill that would reverse a long-standing federal prohibition on most interstate tolling. The proposal comes as pressure increases to avoid a transportation funding crisis as roadways and transit systems built in the post-World War II expansion grow increasingly desperate for repairs.

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According to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, funding in the Highway Trust Fund could empty out as soon as August and states are already cancelling or delaying projects due to uncertainty. The Highway Trust Fund mostly depends on the 18.4-cent federal gas tax, which hasn’t increased since 1993. Foxx also stated that the Highway Trust Fund could face a $63-billion shortfall over the next four years.

Currently, certain states such as Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia utilize toll roads, but the proposal would allow more states to use them if they so choose.

[Source: The Washington Post]