Flurry of new solutions emerges, throwing tolls into the equation

RICHMOND, Va. (Map, News) - Virginia lawmakers issued a bevy of new plans Monday to pull the state out of its transportation crisis, some of them relying heavily on the use of tolls to raise needed revenue.

The re-emergence of toll proposals comes as the prospect of raising new taxes to pay for highway maintenance and new construction seems unlikely and public-private partnerships to build new toll lanes are becoming increasingly popular. Virginia recently began construction of 14 miles of high-occupancy toll lanes on the Capital Beltway and is planning a similar projects on Interstates 95 and 395.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Colgan, D-Manassas, is proposing a broad tax package with a provision that eventually would put tolls on at least one-third of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s new road projects, the revenue from which would be kept in the transportation district that collected it.

Sen. Kenneth Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, wants to begin putting in place electronically collected tolls along interstates in Virginia by 2010, which would be set to generate $1 billion annually. Half of that money would go toward highway maintenance. The measure would be accompanied by a 5 cent per-gallon reduction in the gas tax.

Del. Phil Hamilton, R-Newport News, has proposed a bill that would put in place tolls on Hampton Roads highways.

The proposals are expected to be met with opposition, especially because they increase travel costs for motorists already suffering from high gas prices. Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, said he wants to see the results of the Beltway HOT lane tolls before making any statewide decision.

“Tolls are something that’s definitely going to be part of the equation,” he said. “I’m a little bit of a skeptic. I’ve driven the Dulles Toll Road many, many times, and it is an aggravation to have to plunk down $1.25 every time I go through there, and obviously if there is a more efficient way that we can capture revenue on a statewide basis and not pummel the individual user, I’d rather do that.”

wflook@dcexaminer.com

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