Southern states are more frequently turning to pay-to-use express lanes as a way to address highway congestion without raising taxes
Drivers make their way on an a split highway in Irving, Texas, Friday, March 3, 2023. There is growing interest in the South in fee-based express lanes in which some drivers can up to avoid congestion on highways where other drivers can access general lanes for free.
According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association , which lobbies on behalf of the projects, 54 of the 89 tolling facilities that opened in the U.S. in the past decade were for price-managed lanes. They can be found across the South in Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia, as well as such other places as California, Colorado, Washington and Minnesota.
“All you’re doing is allowing those wealthy enough to use those lanes a quicker ride to work,” said Terri Hall, founder and director of Texans for Toll-free Highways. “It’s like a scapegoat for state legislatures to say, ‘We solved the problem.’ No, you kicked the can down the road.” A grand jury in Orange County examined a state agency that was created to build three traditional toll roads. Its report, issued in 2021, found that on one hand, California produced “excellent roads with minimal tax dollars.” But on the other, the jurors found ballooning debt and the need to change the initial plans amid financial downturns meant that drivers are on pace to shell out $28 billion by 2053 for roads that cost a tenth of that to build.
Republican state Sen. Frank Niceley said he expects Lee will get enough votes to pass the plan, but he strongly opposes it — even pointing out that fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini liked public-private partnerships, too.
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