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Ellmers submits bill to forbid tolls on I-95
Story Date: 3/9/2012
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Source: PRESS RELEASE, 3/8/12
Congresswoman Renee Ellmers released the following statement from her office in Washington this afternoon:
"This afternoon, I submitted a bill that will forbid the Federal Highway Administration from approving a pilot program that would enact tolls on Interstate 95 in order to pay for its expansion. After hearing from numerous constituents and businesses up and down the I-95 corridor, it is clear that NCDOT did not demonstrate that these improvements could be implemented without a toll as required by law. While our highways need to be updated to meet growing needs and usage, North Carolina taxpayers should not have to bear further burdens after paying one of the highest gas taxes in the country."
Congresswoman Ellmers submitted her stand-alone bill, H.R. 4174 the "No Tolls in North Carolina Act of 2012" for consideration this afternoon. This is the first step in the legislative process of making it a law. Congresswoman Ellmers hopes to generate the support of the entire North Carolina delegation in order to protect citizens and businesses from the crippling harm the tolls would cause.
Under proposals by the Perdue Administration and North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), a pilot program to expand Interstate 95 would require new tolls along the highway to pay for 90 percent of the $4.4 billion project. Money could have been available for this, had previous administrations not diverted highway-related revenues to General Fund programs. According to studies produced by The John Locke Foundation, "since 1990, a total of nearly $4 billion in proceeds from gas and car taxes have been spent on transit or General Fund programs."
These tolls will place an undue burden on commuters and businesses, causing a number of perverse incentives including redirected traffic to secondary roads, loss of income to businesses, and further stress to the neighboring economies.
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