Funding the Interstate Highway System
Overview
Highways are funded by a variety of taxes, and the cost is often split between the federal and state governments. When the state might not have enough or needs some extra money for repairs or enhancements, tolls are often created to make up the necessary money.
Highway Funding
Funding for the Interstate Highway System comes from the Federal government's Highway Trust Fund. The trust fund was originally started at $25 billion in 1956, but it's continually replenished through gasoline taxes. Additionally, the cost of building and maintaining an Interstate is not covered entirely by the Federal government - the Federal government pays 90% of the bill, and the state the highway is located in pays the rest.
In some cases, though, there's still not enough money to pay for maintenance, reconstruction, and additions to the highway, since additions have to be approved through Federal legislation. Tolls are sometimes to used to make up these funds.
When the original highway system was created in 1916, tolls were not allowed on any roads that received federal funds. Over time, though, congress has loosened up rules regarding tolls. Now, there are several instances where a state can collect tolls on an Interstate that receives federal funding, including the following:
- Initial construction of toll highways, bridgs, and tunnels.
- Conversion from free highways, bridges, or tunnels to toll roads.
- Maintenance of existing toll highways.
Toll Collection
Tolls are collected in a variety of ways. Below are descriptions of some of the more common methods used to collect tolls in the United States.
Barriers
Barrier-based toll systems place tollbooths at a particular point on a highway (or sometimes several points) and set a flat fee for going through the tollbooth. Bridges and tunnels are some good examples of barrier-based tolls; to get through the tunnel or over the bridge, you must pay a particular amount. Since highways that use barrier-based tolls don't limit the entrances or exits a vehicle can take, they are sometimes called "open" highway systems.
One possible drawback (in the eyes of the authorities, anyway) is that you can avoid a tollbooth if you know the back roads well enough. Some examples of barrier-based tolls on Interstate Highways are the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike (A portion of Interstate 95 in Virginia) and the New Hampshire Turnpike (Interstate 95 in New Hampshire.)
Tickets
Ticket-based toll systems are used to determine tolls based on how far you've gone on a highway. When you enter the highway, you are a given a ticket denoting the location the you're entered. Then, when you exit the highway, you present the ticket, and are charged based on the distance you've traveled. On most tickets, the charges are listed along with the exits. Since Ticket based highways have relatively few entrances and exits, they are sometimes called "closed" highway systems.
Usually, ticket based systems cover long distances. Some examples of ticket-based tolls on Interstate Highways are the New York Thruway (Portions of Interstates 87 and 90 in New York) and the Ohio Turnpike (Interstates 80, 90, and 76).
Tickets and Barriers
Some Interstate highways use a combination of both tickets and barriers. Often times, the Interstate will use a ticket-based system for the long distances, and barrier-based system for extensions of the highway or off of specific onramps. One example of a combination toll highway is the Massachusetts Turnpike, which uses tickets for most of the state, but uses barrier-based tolls on the extension of the highway leading into the city and for tunnels and bridges connected to the highway.
Yeah Electronic Toll Collection
Several years ago, electronic toll collection systems were introduced. Some, but not all states use them. For instance, New York has E-ZPass, Massachusetts has Fast Lane, and California has FasTrak.
An electronic toll collection system works as follows. The vehicle (a car, truck, or motorcycle) has a small transponder mounted somewhere on the car frame. When the vehicle goes through a toll lane, a sensor picks up the transponder, and two communicate wirelessly over a 900Mhz band. The account number is transmitted to the tollbooth operator, and tolls are charged to the owner's account.
There are security measures in place to make sure that people don't take advantage of the system. Security cameras take photos of the license plate for processing, and there are fines in place for each violation. Fines range from $5 to $50 per violation, depending on the state.
For More Information
For more information about highway funding and toll collection, try the following:
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