Trucker Tim Chelette has been driving twice as often for 16 years from Louisville, Kentucky, to the Jack Daniels distillery in Tennessee, even as his workdays get longer as he loses time in Nashville traffic.
Although trucks would not be eligible for pay-to-use express lanes, Republican Gov. Bill Lee is advocating for some of Tennessee’s most congested highways, Chelette supports him because he thinks enough drivers in the rapidly growing state capital will take advantage to benefit everyone.
“They’re going to do something,” said Chellett of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, who gets paid by distance, not time – even on his 245-mile (394-km) return trip to the Lynchburg distillery. There are hikes of one hour or more during the afternoon rush. “When I’m stuck in traffic, I lose money.”
Most toll roads built since 2012 are price-managed lanes.
Unlike traditional toll plazas, where every vehicle passing through pays a standard fee, price-managed lanes allow some drivers to pay to avoid congestion – and the fee usually increases as traffic increases.
According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA), which lobbies on behalf of the projects, over the past decade in the U.S. Of the 89 tolling facilities opened in 2015, 54 were for value-administered lanes. They can be found throughout the South in Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia, as well as in California, Colorado, Washington, and Minnesota, among other places.
Opponents call them “Lexus lanes”, implying that only drivers of expensive cars can use them, but Lee prefers another name: “choice lanes.”
“I think (the name) is brilliant. I wish I had invented it,” said Robert Poole, director of transportation policy at the Libertarian Reason Foundation and a vocal advocate of price-managed lanes.
The marketing pitch is important, especially in the conservative South where voters have long opposed anything like tax increases. But by failing to repair old roads or increase capacity to ease congestion with fuel tax revenue and federal infrastructure payments, the projects are winning favor – even, and perhaps especially, Republicans. in states where “tolled” is considered a four-letter word in more ways than one.
“All you’re doing is allowing those rich to use a faster ride to work,” said Terry Hall, founder and director of Texans for Toll-Free Highways. “It’s state legislatures scapegoating, ‘We solved the problem.’ No, you kicked the can across the street.”
Proponents contend that tolls are a way to pay for roads without raising taxes, although they acknowledge they are sometimes a tough sell – especially the public-private partnerships that have funded many of the projects.
“If you have someone who is anti-tax and pro-free market, they might say this is a good idea,” said Pat Jones, IBTTA executive director, and CEO. “Then, if you tell them the company is from Spain or Australia, they’ll say, ‘I don’t want the highways owned by foreigners.’ You often see resistance from people before they use toll facilities, but once they’re open and people realize they’re getting value … the resistance subsides.
California’s experience with tolling — both traditional plazas and price-managed lanes — has provided fodder for advocates on both sides of the heated debate.
A grand jury in Orange County opened an investigation into a state agency that was created to build three conventional toll roads. Its report, released in 2021, found that on the one hand, California built “outstanding roads with minimal tax dollars.” But on the other hand, jurors found mounting debt and the need to change initial plans amid the financial downturn mean drivers are on pace to spend $28 billion for roads by 2053, a tenth of what it cost to build It happens.
The nation’s first price-managed lane opened in Orange County in 1995, using a public-private partnership to fund it. Poole, who advised on the project and still calls it a model for others, said officials agreed not to add free lanes on the corridor for 35 years. Rising growth eventually made this impossible, so the county terminated the contract and paid the company for its lost revenue. New bonds were issued, and tolls had to remain in place to pay for them.
“These agencies often become self-fulfilling entities that advocate for drivers’ rights,” said Jay Bieber, director of public policy for the National Motorists Association. “They have huge organizations with lots of staff members, lots of salaries, huge pensions from the government, and they always want to stay in business. Nobody wants to find themselves out of a job.
Lee is seeking legislative support to authorize a public-private partnership for the project in Tennessee – one of 14 states that do not have tolls on any road.
Republican state Sen. Frank Nickle said he hoped Lee would get enough votes to pass the plan, but he strongly opposes it – even fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini preferred public-private partnerships. Is.
“We’re not really giving these things to the private sector,” Nickle said. “We’re co-signing the note. And most people who co-sign the note end up paying the note.”
The governor’s administration rejects such criticism. Will Reed, chief engineer, and deputy commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Transportation, said the state is uniquely positioned to establish a partnership that avoids the financial pitfalls seen in California and elsewhere.
“We’re one of six no-date states,” Reid said. “We own every piece of pavement. We own every bridge. We firmly believe in paying as we go and getting paid for the things we decide to build.
Mark Burris, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Texas A&M University, researched public sentiment for price-managed lanes in four metro areas: Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami and the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. His review found widespread support from drivers in those areas, with more than three-quarters of those surveyed saying they would like to see more price-managed lanes open.
Some of the paid express lanes in Texas allow speed limits 10 mph higher than general-purpose lanes, and Hall, with Texans calling for toll-free highways, said that when traffic is busiest Fees can add up to $3 a mile. They argue that is a regressive double tax that does not reduce congestion as much as creating additional free lanes would – something the state can afford.
Texas also proves how fleeting support for these projects can be – even when a single party is in control. Former governor Rick Perry advocated price-managed lanes, but his successor, fellow Republican Greg Abbott, has favored a moratorium on new tolls.
“Fifteen years ago it was all the rage,” Mark Murillo, IBTTA’s director of public policy and government affairs, said of the appetite for projects in Texas. “Politics tends to change. Nothing stays the same.
Usually in the US In the U.S. it takes 15 years for a road project to open once it’s approved, though Tennessee officials are determined to cut that in half. Noting a recent study showing a need for $34 billion, Reed — the state transportation official — acknowledges the clock is ticking.
“As far as whether it works 10, 20, 30 years from now, the proof will be in the pudding,” Reid said. “But one thing is certain – to keep pace with the demands on our infrastructure in Tennessee, we will have to find a different way to generate revenue.”