Taking Their Tolls
Virginia truckers say a plan to toll trucks on Interstate 81 is expensive – and unsafe.
Patricia Smith
Senior Editor
Interstate 81 runs more than 800 miles from Dandridge, Tenn., to the U.S./Canadian border, including some 325 miles through Virginia. Often cited as one of the country's most scenic interstates, it's also a major route for truckers.
According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, nearly 60,000 vehicles travel I-81 daily. In some areas, a third or more are trucks.
Three years ago VDOT asked the U.S. Department of Transportation for approval to toll I-81. The road had been built over a period of some 12 years starting in the mid-1950s. Over the past 25 years traffic demand has doubled – even tripled – in some areas. Volume is projected to double again by 2035. Truck traffic is roughly twice what was expected when the interstate was designed, posing serious safety concerns along some stretches. VDOT said rehabilitation and/or total reconstruction would soon be necessary in many areas, but it couldn't be done without the collection of tolls.
Truck-only Lanes Proposed
The state solicited proposals from private companies and in 2004 began negotiations with STAR Solutions, a consortium of some of the country's biggest road and infrastructure consulting and construction firms. STAR proposed widening I-81 to four lanes in each direction and separating cars from heavy trucks with special truck-only lanes.
The cost was estimated at $8 billion, which STAR planned to finance with federal demonstration highway funds – Virginia highway funds already earmarked for I-81 and truck tolls. (Tolling cars on I-81 would violate current state law.)
The plan won praise from proponents of dedicated truck lanes, but many Virginians – including Virginia truckers – see all kinds of problems.
"We don't favor the tolled truck-only lanes because they would be mandatory," says P. Dale Bennett, executive vice president of the Virginia Trucking Association. "Our position is that the use of tolled truck lanes should be voluntary so that trucking companies and their customers can make an economic business decision as to whether or not the benefits of using those lanes outweigh the cost."
The key argument for dedicated truck lanes is safety, but Bennett says this plan may create more safety-related problems than it solves. For one thing, the truck lanes are separated from car lanes by grass medians or rumble strips – not much of a barrier if a car or truck driver loses control. And there are only a few truck-only interchanges. In other places cars and trucks would still share the road when getting on or off the interstate.
As VDOT emphasizes, no plan or proposal can go forward without approval from the U.S. DOT. Because I-81 is a federally funded highway, there must be a two-tiered environmental impact study to assess problems and solutions. The first study was completed in late 2005 and released for public comment earlier this year.
One important question: How much truck traffic would shift to secondary roads if tolls were imposed on I-81? Obviously, this is a major concern of residents and businesses along the interstate. The study basically concluded that increased truck traffic on local roads would be relatively low – especially when compared to projected traffic volumes if the interstate wasn't expanded.
But opponents say those findings are contradicted by other data. Most notable is a study done by Reebe Associates for the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, which concluded that a 10-cent-per-mile toll on trucks would result in a 21 percent diversion to non-toll roads. Some estimates put truck tolls for the STAR plan at 25 cents a mile once the project is complete, which could mean that more than 40 percent of truck traffic would divert to other roads.
Financial Black Hole?
"It could become a vicious cycle," notes Bennett. "If trucks avoid the toll road it won't generate the revenue needed, so they'll jack up the tolls and even fewer trucks will use the road. It could end up in a financial black hole."
In last year's federal transportation budget, Congress allocated $100 million to the I-81 project – far short of the $800 million STAR had requested. That fueled more financing concerns and protests from taxpayer groups.
Opponents also warn of damage to the environment as well as displacement of families and businesses caused by the massive widening project. Many call for further consideration of rail options. The original STAR plan included new rail infrastructure that would remove an estimated 560,000 trucks annually from I-81. Several other proposals for rail improvements were included in the impact study. The conclusion: Rail improvements alone wouldn't eliminate the need for more lanes on the interstate in coming years.
The study also determined that a combination of rail improvements and highway modifications – such as truck climbing lanes and longer acceleration lanes in some areas – could complement roadway improvements, but it still wouldn't satisfy long-term traffic demands. Adding one additional lane would help in some areas. but the study concluded that two additional lanes weren't needed along the entire length of Virginia's I-81 corridor.
The public comment period closed at the end of May. The next step for VDOT is to consider the comments along with the study findings and make a recommendation to the Commonwealth Transportation board. A second study will then look specifically at the impact of the recommended project. VDOT says it continues to negotiate with STAR as a potential business partner, but the negotiations do not include road design.
50 Years on the Interstate continued...
