NC DOT proposes tolling 95 to fund improvements

LUMBERTON- The North Carolina Department of Transportation is proposing a toll system along Interstate 95 that would fund $4.4 billion in improvements to the highway.

Though the idea of placing tolls on the interstate is not a new one, it is gaining a new sense of traction in North Carolina as well as two other states, Virginia and Missouri.

Those three states are participating in a federal program that would allow states to toll federal interstates if the money raised from those tolls went toward improvements on those highways.

The NC DOT is holding public hearings this month to discuss the planned construction projects on Interstate 95 that would start in 2016 and the coinciding toll collection that would start three years later and would help fund the projects.

Transportation officials said the 182 miles of Interstate 95 that run through North Carolina are in need of repairs and widening to ease congestion.

As with many other agencies though, funding mechanisms for the project are simply not available, so officials are looking at tolling as a possible way to maintain the interstate.

Many North Carolina residents said they believe that the highway is in need of some major repairs, but residents had conflicting outlooks on whether tolls should fund them.

"I don't think it would be too good, not around here, the cost of living is already high enough," said North Carolina resident Sheryl Hunt.

"Around here, the roads could use some work... (but) they need to come up with another way, another plan, besides pay tolls," she said.

Tolling has been commonplace on stretches of I-95 in the Northeast for many years, but it has failed to gain traction in states south of Maryland until now.

Some North Carolina residents said though the tolls may be inconvenient, they should be the funding mechanism used to maintain the interstate.

"I go through Virginia and you have to pay, I've gone through Buffalo, New York over the toll bridge and you have to pay...I'm used to it," said North Carolina resident Joseph Strickland.

"It's rough on 95 and it definitely needs a lot of repairs on it. I think it (tolling) would be good," he continued.

Cathy Hein, Spokesperson for AAA of the Carolinas, said tolling would be an appropriate way to come up with the money needed to make the roads safer and less congested, not only for residents in North Carolina but for the many out of state travelers that also pass through.

"I-95 is one of the most heavily traveled corridors in North Carolina and the bulk of that traffic is truly out of state. Widening that road, would eventually make it a safer road and from AAA's perspective that's the most important thing is to make sure our drivers are safe," Hein said.

She said that if the proposal passes and tolls eventually become a part of reality in North Carolina, that the highway improvements that would result would benefit everyone.

"The tolls as a funding source are really one of the few options we have. When you look at NC DOT's available funds, across the boards budgets are being cut, it's just a reality," Hein said.

"We need the roads to be safer and therefore improved and the money's got to come from somewhere and therefore using the tolls as a funding source is one of our best options," she said.

South Carolina transportation officials said that tolling is not currently an option that's on the table in the Palmetto State.

Those officials did say though, that they were looking at what other states are doing with tolling and how those scenarios will play out.

NC DOT officials will hold a hearing Monday at Halifax Community College in Weldon, with another scheduled for Thursday at The Imperial Centre in Rocky Mount.

Public hearings also will take place next week in Smithfield, Wilson, Dunn and Fayetteville. All of those hearings will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.