“The interstate highway system is now more than 50 years old,” Regan said. “Built with 90 per cent federal funds at a cost of US$130 billion, parts of the system are crumbling. Over the next 50 years, we will need to spend $2.5 trillion to rebuild the system and the bulk of that cost will fall to the states. If the states are expected to bear that burden to rebuild the interstate highway system, Congress should eliminate current federal restrictions on tolling of existing and new interstate highways. In short, if the federal government can no longer help solve the problem, it should at least get out of the way.”
Regan’s presentation was based on a paper titled “Building the Case for Tolling the Interstates” that he co-authored with colleague Steven Brown. The article and other documents related to the event may be found at www.ibtta.org.
Seven other transportation experts participated in the event titled “Rebuilding America’s Interstate Highway System.” The IBTTA organised event was held at the offices of the
Below are highlights of their responses to Ed Regan’s presentation.
Greg Whirley, commissioner,
“Ed was right when he talked about tools in the toolbox. There is another tool that our governor wants us to look at: the flexibility to toll the interstate. We have submitted an expression of interest to FHWA to toll I-95 from the North Carolina border to the Maryland state line. We believe that’s needed because we have a tremendous need for reconstruction, rehabilitation and maintenance. We have over a billion dollars of needs just on I-95. That does not even include the work that is needed on the bridges on I-95. We need long term sustainable revenue. That’s why the flexibility to toll I-95 is important. It is one that we are going to work hard to get.”
Frank McCartney, executive director,
“How do we get the Congress to have the courage to allow tolling of existing interstates? We heard from Secretary LaHood at our Legislative Conference that he’s in favor of tolling new capacity but not existing capacity. He said he doesn’t hear support for tolling from Congress, the governors or the states. Therefore, we need to get a message before the National Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures. We need to make it an issue that they understand because their DOTs are strapped for options. We can utilize all the people in this room to spread the message that we need to have our interstate highways rebuilt with a sustainable revenue source. The best way we can do that is to get involved in these organizations and get them to start driving that message to Washington.”
Pete Ruane, president and CEO, American Road and Transportation Builders Association
“Ed’s presentation captured the essence of the challenge we’re facing right now, particularly the potential role of tolling in helping solve part of this problem. We have been and still are strong supporters of maximum flexibility of the states to toll as they see fit. We still support user fee increases, greater use of P3s, the infrastructure bank concept, and anything that will work and will pass muster with the politicians.
“It is the worst environment for the passage of surface transportation legislation in the past 30 years. The sentiment in the House is not very favorable to additional tolling unless it’s new capacity. So there’s a big job ahead convincing members of the House that this is one of the tools that has to be expanded to help solve the nation’s problem. We will fight vigorously throughout this entire process to ensure that the tolling approach and model is part of the solution. I think it has to be or we’re not going to see the kind of investment that is needed especially on the interstate system. Inaction and inertia is only hurting our economy.”
Geoff Yarema, partner, Nossaman and chair, Nossaman's Infrastructure Practice Group
“The gas tax is fatally flawed long term. While we will probably have to rely on it for the rest of this decade, increasingly we have had to rely on general fund injections to make up for the shortcomings of revenues going into the highway trust fund. The gas tax is no longer an adequate proxy for user fees and we need to replace it with a vehicle miles traveled fee, what I call a user charge. The federal role in connection with state and local funding mechanisms needs to change. Whereas historically the federal role was to provide a substantial percentage of the total share and then regulate how those funds were used; the new federal role needs to permit enormous flexibility at the state and local level where the real action is and to incentivize states and localities to put nontraditional revenues into transportation.
"We are under no illusion that allowing states to toll in these ways is going to make it happen. We are completely aware of the degree of courage it takes for a local or state elected official to stand up and tell the voters who elected him or her that they should be tolling these facilities. That is a very tough sell, but the federal government should not be preventing that person from making that courageous stand.”
Mark Foster, CFO,
“We agree with the issues that Ed mentioned in his presentation and most importantly the need for flexibility to address our interstate problem. Like all states we have an aging system, one that is rapidly becoming functionally obsolete. The price tag even today is staggering and is just going to grow.
“We are one of the few states that has one of the federal highway value pricing slots for I-95. We’ve been spending the last two years studying that corridor and the key element of that study has been public involvement. Over the last two years we’ve had close to 40 public involvement meetings up and down the corridor. Why all this interest in public involvement? As we all know, without public involvement there is no road and there is no transportation system. It’s true for pay as you go and it’s doubly true for tolling. Without local support, you don’t have legislative support. You need that input to plan the design and operation of that system. And most importantly, that local support is your customer for 40 to 50 years or longer.”
George Campbell, commissioner, New Hampshire Department of Transportation
“The facts are stark and compelling if you care about America’s future. It’s about infrastructure; it’s about making our country competitive and being able to move our goods and people safely. That’s what Ed is talking about. We need flexibility at the federal level. If you think about toll roadways, they’re not cul de sacs; they are tied into the system.”
Randy Brown, acting executive director, Maryland Transportation Authority
“The key word I hear throughout the presentation and the comments is flexibility. The Intercounty Connector was five decades in the making before a political champion was able to push it through. Even after it was passed through, toll financing was only a component of making it a reality. About half the construction cost of this project is going to be through toll revenue bonds. The customers we have on the Intercounty Connector in Maryland will be the same people using the I-495 HOT lanes in Virginia. So any technology that comes into play on their facility is going to be influencing how our customers interact on our facility."
