Toll hikes for Washington roads
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Tolls will continue to jump on Washington roads
By: Lisa Gartner | Examiner Staff Writer @Lisa_Examiner | 07/02/11 8:05 PM
Beginning in October, travelers on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge will pay$5, as opposed to the current$2.50, to cross.-Andrew Harnik/Examiner
Beginning in October, travelers on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge will pay $5, as opposed to the current $2.50, to cross.-Andrew Harnik/Examiner
This is the last July Fourth weekend that Washingtonians will pay $2.50 to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge as they head for a getaway at the popular Atlantic Ocean beaches.
The toll will double to $5 in October and jump to $8 by 2013, shocking Marylanders.
But transportation analysts say drivers should get used to paying a high fee to cross a bridge or drive on a road -- tolls will increasingly replace gasoline taxes as the way states will pay for their transportation infrastructure in the future.
"The actual value of the gas tax hasn't been going up the way it needs to to pay for the roads we want, so there's a new interest in toll roads now," said John Gilmour, a government professor at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. "Because of political pressure against raising taxes, if they're going to build new roads, they have to be toll roads."
The toll man cometh
Tolls for two-axle vehicles
Maryland Rate before July 1, 2011 As of Oct. 1, 2011 As of July 1, 2013 Reason
Hatem Memorial Bridge $10/year with decal, $5 for trip $72/year EZPass plan to replace decal, $6 for trip $8 $132 million in repairs needed
Bay Bridge $2.50 $5 $8 $225 million needed to maintain Bay Bridge over next six years
Nice Bridge $3 $5 $8 $21 million in repairs needed
I-95 Turnpike (Kennedy Highway) $5 $6 $8 $121 million needed for highway work
Key Bridge $2 $3 $4 $410 million needed for combined work on Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key and Baltimore Harbor Tunnel repairs
Baltimore Harbor Tunnel $2 $3 $4 see Key Bridge
Fort McHenry Tunnel $0.90 $2.70 $3 see Key Bridge
ICC $1.45/peak, $1.15/off peak/$.60 overnight Only toll exempt from raise
Virginia Current Jan. 1, 2012
That's certainly the case with the carpool lanes being built on the Capital Beltway in Virginia that solo riders can buy their way into -- dubbed "Lexus lanes" -- and the brand-new Intercounty Connector, whose high tolls must help cover the $1.2 billion in toll-backed bonds that went into the road's $2.56 billion in construction costs. Maryland officials also want the toll to be high enough to discourage some drivers and defeat congestion.
Tolls on the Bay Bridge, Nice Bridge, Interstate 95 Turnpike, Key Bridge, the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel and Fort McHenry Tunnel will jump in October and skyrocket by 2013 to fund repairs and expand the area's transportation network.
The Dulles Toll Road will raise fares next year, while the Delaware Memorial Bridge's toll increased from $3 to $4 on July 1 to generate $21 million for the bridge and a ferry.
Peter Samuel, editor of Tollroadsnews, explained that the increases seen around Maryland are so steep because legislators have kept tolls stable for decades. "They're playing catch-up to an extent. I think they probably should have bit the bullet on tolls three or four years ago," he said.
But tolls are polarizing, and politicians need points. The pro-toll philosophy says it makes sense to get the money to fix roads from the people who choose to use them: States are strapped to find other funding sources, and drivers can always take the traffic-heavy free routes.
But drivers say they're fed up with tolls -- and may even abandon roads and bridges that are getting pricier.
"It's not a small increase -- it's a slap in the face," said Marianne Jansa, a 53-year-old Hanover, Md., resident who drives over the Bay Bridge every weekend. "Most of the people I've talked to said they're going to stop going over there."
Jansa said she wasn't sure where she thought the money to repair the bridge should come from, but said that it certainly shouldn't come from her change purse.
Ed Kline, a 52-year-old from Hughesville, was headed to the Eastern Shore and was speechless to learn of the upcoming toll increase. "Wow," said Kline, who thinks in the future he'll go to the Outer Banks instead.
While there aren't many alternatives to pay for roads -- Republicans especially don't want to raise taxes and no one wants to see the price of gas climb any more -- Gilmour said it's the tangibility of the tolls that get people going.
"The problem with tolls is that people hate paying for them, and they have to wait to pay for them," Gilmour said. "This weekend, people will be waiting a long time just for the privilege of paying a toll."
Amy Myers contributed to this report.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/2011/07/tolls-will-continue-jump-washington-roads#ixzz1RNhmci6S