The only toll road I remember ever driving on, was the Cumberland Parkway going from I65 just north of Bowling Green Kentucky for 88 miles and ending in Somerset Kentucky, it was 88 miles of not much, drove it many a nights back in the mid 90’s and never saw another vehicle on it, but it had 3 toll booth thingys, and all three were different prices (something like $0.30, $0.80 & $0.95 IIRC), I would always have the exact change lined up and ready to throw in the net, once the rod was paid for, they removed the toll booths…
Last time I went to my long time buddy’s to pick up 3rd member, another friend went with me, I know the road very well and most of the way on the Parkway I did 80-95 mph for long stretches, well on the way back he asked if I wanted him to drive (he is the ONLY other person to every drive my fun car in the last 30 years), so he who never drives fast, always just cruises alone, maybe, just maybe will go 5 mph over, well he wasn’t paying attention to his speed and got clocked at 97 mph, his 1st ever speeding ticket…
Yeah the little Matrix/Vibe likes to stretch her legs on the open road and with no cruise control, she will get away from you pretty easy…
I routinely drive on a turnpike in MA that does not have any tolls and would seem strange if it ever did. It’s a two lane road for the most part and has sections that go through decent sized towns/cities where the speed limit is 30mph with numerous intersections all along its path just like any other road. It doesn’t fit the traditional definition…
This curve looks easier than it is. Marked at 30moh down frim the 50mph limit before and after in 1994. Two students from my hs in their junior year were doing 50mph+ on the curve and went into the woods rolling multiple times ending on fire. One of the first on scene is still traumatized by it 32yrs later. Its now so developed on that toad you have a roundabout right before the curve headi g south as they were that night.
My Grandfather was a department head on the New York Highway Authority, later to become the New York State Thruway Authority. The New York State Thruway was built with a Bond issue and Federal tax dollars. Toll roads cannot be built with Federal dollars. So part of the Thruway had to be Free of Tolls…
He fought tooth and nail to get the Free Part of the Thruway to be shared with all the major cities along its route, ie: NYC, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo…
But all the political power is in New York City and that is where all the miles of Toll Free road went…
And if you read the attached link then as Paul Harvey would say, “and now you know the rest of the story”.
My Dad helped build the Thruway (I-90). When it was built it was only supposed to be a toll road for x number of years. After the x years had passed, my dad REFUSED to drive on the toll road claiming it was supposed to be free by now.
My dad also worked on filling in the sections of the Erie Canal. Most of the canal is still around but is in small segments or has merged with the Barge Canal.
Someone has to maintain those roads and often it costs more than the original bond payments were. And gas taxes don’t cover the costs of the roads anymore either . About half is now coming from general tax payments.
I still have family and friends in UpState New York and traveling from Virginia I really have to take the Thruway north to Albany and the first 35-40 miles are all Toll Free, thereby offering the Many Thousands of drivers from the wealthiest counties north of New York City a Free Ride… These counties include Westchester, Putnam, and Rockland counties, with many of their towns being among the wealthiest in the nation.
+1
The original “turnpikes” were privately-owned “improved” roads, and the term “turnpike” refers to the wooden barrier (pike) that would be turned out of the way after someone paid his toll. It was only much later that the term was applied to state-run toll roads.
As to the reason why tolls are still collected many years after the building of those roads, I can’t speak for other states, but in NJ ~60% of the traffic on the NJ Turnpike is from out-of-state vehicles. The fact that it is the chief highway artery connecting DC/Philly/NY causes the high degree of out-of-staters. Those out-of-state drivers/truck owners don’t pay taxes in NJ, and might not even buy fuel in NJ, so it’s actually a good way for the state to collect revenue on roads that are heavily-used by non-taxpayers.
Edited to add this list of “turnpikes” in NJ, dating back to the 19th Century. Many of them still bear their turnpike name, even though they are no longer privately-run, and are no longer toll roads.
CT Route 44 through northeast CT retains its historic “Boston Turnpike” name, even if it doesn’t have a total of six lanes (3 one way 3 the other).
“I-95” (southern CT/Shoreline) was referred to as CT Turnpike when it was completed in stages through the 1950s-early 1960s. Now, only those of us who remember still call it “the turnpike” or the the thruway.l
Every gallon of fuel (Gasoline and diesel) I buy, 32-cents goes to the Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Fund to pay for highway construction and maintenance and on top of that, I pay an additional 18-cents Federal Fuel Tax and that goes into the Federal Highway Trust Fund, which primarily funds federal grants to state and local governments for highway construction and maintenance.
Some of the Members are paying a lot more in fuel tax than me…
Once the funds are distributed to the municipalities, it is usually deposited into the General Fund and that is a catch all for them to buy what they want and pay whatever bill they so choose…
In my county, the main route through is considered its “Main Street” and allocated over $500,000 to include beautification efforts, to help businesses spruce up their properties along the highway, to assist businesses with minor improvements like new paint and signs, and for landscaping projects (trees, shrubs, and flowers). Particularly egregious was the $14,000 they awarded to a garden center that sells plants, trees, and all manner of garden furniture and structures.
A lot of the money never goes where “the Rubber Meets the Road!”
The federal highway trust fund has been insolvent without government money for years now and receives about 50% of its money from general funds. The tax rate has not changed in over 20 years.
Ahh yes, someone needs to pay for things. Every gallon of gas I buy, the state gets 60 cents and the feds get 18 cents. The government makes more per gallon of gas than the oil companies or the guy running your corner gas station.
Add to that the $1000 per year that I spend licensing 4 cars and various local bonds and levies for road improvement.
Sure, let’s add tolls to my burden as well. On one hand, tolls may be a fair way to pay for the roads because the people using and wearing out the pavement are the ones paying. You could say the same for gasoline tax. Or increased licensing fees for EV’s.
So the question becomes are taxes lower enough where you are to justify charging tolls?
In Virginia, if a vehicle is more than 25-years old, or if it has an average combined MPG rating lower than 25 MPG (a gas hog…) it is exempt from the Highway Use Fee (HUF) as my Diesel Dodge Ram Truck is.
If the vehicle is classified as a fuel-efficient vehicles (25+ combined MPG), alternative fuel vehicles, or an electric motor vehicles. Then you pay a variable HUF based on the its fuel efficiency… I am charged about $33 on top of the registration fee for my 2019 Toyota Corolla and about $31 for my 2020 Honda Fit. The Toyota gets better gas mileage than the Honda so I have to pay more HUF for it…
In Virginia, the Highway Use Fee for electric vehicles (EV) is $128 in additional to the vehicle registration fee.
No Brag, Just Fact, I know some members pay more, much more and some pay less…
The justification here is due to what VDCdriver originally pointed out. The majority use on toll roads is out of state tourists or home owners going to vacation properties or just sightseeing. They need to pay their fair share for upkeep of the roads they are traveling on to get to their destinations…In case you’re not aware, the sheer volume of people heading to/from northern destinations (VT, NH, ME) is astounding.
The tollbooths in New Jersey to cross the George Washington Bridge into New York City. I imagine that most folks in these vehicles are just trying to get to work.
You took that quote out of context. It goes with the line before it in my post. The operative word being here.
Those people commuting across the bridge into another state aren’t much different except it’s every day. They get to use infrastructure from another state to access a job market that has advantages for them. There’s a price to pay for that.
I commute to a different state for work. It costs a fortune in income taxes. I do it because in the end, the benefits outweigh the additional cost…
Not as much as you are insinuating that these New Jersey commuters are interlopers into New York and unfairly taking advantage of New York’s employment opportunities…
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) share the responsibility for operating, maintaining, and renovating the George Washington Bridge. This includes managing the physical structure, collecting tolls, and ensuring law enforcement through the Port Authority Police Department.
It’s a Win-Win for both, the commuters who flow into NYC to work pay the toll one way, but to return home, there is a toll that way too…
And it’s not like the Jersey residents are getting to work scot-free, New Jersey residents who physically work in New York City must pay New York state income taxes. However, they are generally exempt from New York City’s local income tax since they do not live within the city.
Those Jersey residents must still file a New Jersey Income Tax form. They get credit of all taxes they pay to New York State. If the New Jersey income taxes amount to more than they paid to NY (earnings outside of NY are not taxed by NY, such as interest, dividends, second jobs, a spouse’s income, etc…) then they must pay the difference to New Jersey.
Here’s the thing boys and girls, the folks that spend this money will always be looking to increase it with a multitude of justifications. So Minnesota is putting roundabouts everywhere instead of stop signs, reconstructing interchanges for the third or fourth time, and so on. They are even trying the toll road to help commuters.
Hit the news lately that the license tab formula secretly changed and why? The fuel tax just isn’t enough anymore.
TN gas tax rate of 27.4 cents per gallon, this rate is in addition to the federal gasoline tax of 18.4 cents per gallon.
Our yearly Tags and registration fee, varies by county, this is my county’s… Leased Vehicle Fee: $0.00 Registration Fee: $29 County Wheel Tax: $51 City Wheel Tax: $0 Mailing Fee: $3.00 Processing Fee: $1.91 Online Fee: $2.00 Total Amount: $86.91
We have no other fees for vehicle ownership…
We have no state income tax fee…
But our sales tax is either 9.25% or 9.75% depending on the county…
And we have no toll roads or pay roads in TN either…
