Los Angeles Times
March 10, 2005

Congress Paving the Way for Tolls on Interstates
Legislation backed by the Bush administration would let states charge
drivers fees to fund new highways or to reduce rush-hour traffic.
By Richard Simon, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON - With traffic congestion growing worse - and state and
federal budgets as red as the brake lights from cars backed up on a Los
Angeles freeway - Congress is moving toward relaxing a decades-old
restriction on tolls on interstate highways.

The legislation, backed by the Bush administration, would give states
greater authority to impose tolls to reduce gridlock.

These charges could be levied to raise money for new highway
construction. Or motorists could be charged varying tolls during the
day, with higher tolls in effect during rush hours to nudge drivers
into making some of their trips during less busy times.

The toll provisions are part of a long-stalled $284-billion, six-year
transportation spending bill that is expected to clear the House today.
The Senate is expected to vote on its version of the bill within a few
months.

Last year, the legislation stalled amid complaints from the White House
that it was too costly. But now, the administration and congressional
GOP leaders appear to have settled on a price tag.

Although the House and Senate bills contain different provisions on
tolls, some easing of the rules against such charges on interstates
seems certain to emerge in the final version of the legislation.

The 46,730-mile interstate system has been largely free of tolls since
its birth in 1956, though a number of old turnpikes, mostly on the East
Coast, charge tolls.

Some experimental tolling also has been permitted, such as on a stretch
of Interstate 15 in San Diego County where drivers with no passengers
can buy their way into the carpool lanes. They pay tolls varying from
50 cents to $8, depending on the level of congestion in the lane at the
time.

Supporters of the toll provisions say they hope to see similar projects
on more highways if the federal rules are relaxed. The House bill, in
fact, would give states authority to open more carpool lanes to solo
motorists willing to pay a toll to speed past the traffic.

Among its other provisions, the House bill would establish three pilot
programs that would allow tolls to be levied to fund new interstate
construction. And it would authorize 25 so-called congestion-pricing
projects on existing highways. Under that program, motorists would be
charged the higher tolls during rush hours.

The Senate bill, which is still being drafted, is expected to go
further. It would allow states to impose tolls on newly built lanes. It
also would allow states to use congestion pricing, but not limit the
number of projects.

Not everyone is eager to see more tolls.

In California, Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza (D-Long Beach), who chairs
the Assembly Transportation Committee, said she would oppose any effort
to create more toll roads in California.

"I have always held the view that public highways should be equally
accessible to everybody," she said. "The answer to reducing highway
congestion should include a mix of more funding for highway
construction and mass-transit projects."

In Washington, opponents of tolls - including the American Trucking
Assns. and the American Automobile Assn. - have begun lobbying against
allowing charges on existing roads. They contend such tolls amount to
double taxation of motorists who already have paid gasoline taxes.

The trucking industry group also warns that tolls on existing highways
could drive truck traffic onto city streets, worsening traffic
congestion on those roads.

But in a sign of the growing political support for tolls, the House on
Wednesday rejected a measure that would have limited tolls to newly
constructed lanes and required the charges be lifted once the new lanes
were paid for. State highway officials were among those opposing any
effort to weaken the bill's toll provisions.

The push for tolls has gained legislative momentum because the federal
government and an increasing number of states are strapped for cash to
maintain highways, let alone improve them.

"No tolls, no roads," Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) said.

The federal gasoline tax, the major source of funding for highways, has
not been raised in more than a decade, and Bush opposes any increase.
Additionally, federal officials are concerned that federal efforts to
encourage greater use of more fuel-efficient vehicles could reduce gas
tax revenue, making even less money available for highway projects.

States are finding transportation funds competing with other critical
needs.

In California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed diverting $1.3
billion from transportation projects to help close the state's budget
gap.

Schwarzenegger has not taken a position on tolls on federal highways,
said Patrick Dorinson, a spokesman for the state's Business,
Transportation and Housing Agency.

Federal Highway Administrator Mary E. Peters said public attitudes
about tolls had shifted, in part because of technological advances.
Now, vehicles can be equipped with electronic transmitters that allow
motorists to pay tolls without stopping.

"People are saying, 'I don't mind paying the toll so much, but just
don't make me stop,' " she said.

The focus on imposing tolls to help pay for improved roadways comes as
studies find traffic congestion growing. Between 1990 and 2001, the
percentage of freeway mileage that was congested grew from 49% to 60%,
according to the Texas Transportation Institute.

Robert Poole, director of transportation studies for the Reason
Foundation, a Santa Monica think tank, said there was a "huge need to
rebuild portions of our freeways and interstates, but very little money
- and no political will to increase federal gas taxes. So the only way
to get where we need to go is with a new funding source: tolls."

If the federal rules on tolls are relaxed, tolls would still need to be
approved at the state level.

"This is very, very politically dicey," Poole said.

Still, a number of states also are turning to tolls as a way to finance
new highway projects. Texas has embarked on a massive highway
construction program using tolls to fund new state highways. In
Connecticut and North Carolina, state legislation has been introduced
to impose tolls on highways at the state borders.

Free-market proponents frequently float the notion of toll roads when
California's state government is in financial trouble, but the state's
limited experience with the pay-as-you-go roads has been troubled.

In 1989, the Legislature authorized Caltrans to sign contracts with
private companies for four demonstration toll road projects, only one
of which is operating.

That case involves 10 miles of California 91 in Orange County, one of
the state's most congested stretches of highway, which since has been
bought by the Orange County Transportation Authority.

The largest toll road system in California is a 51-mile network
operated by the Transportation Corridor Agencies, a government entity
based in Irvine.

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Highway bill

The Transportation Equity Act would provide $284 billion for projects
for fiscal years 2004 through 2009, up from $218 billion in the
previous six-year period. If enacted, here's where the money might go:

(In billions)

Highways $225.5
Transit $52.3
Safety $3.2
Truck safety $2.9

Source: Associated Press

Note: The bill contains about $10 billion in "earmarks" for 3,700
specific projects requested by individual lawmakers.