Lockbox before tolls
When it comes to raising the money necessary to repair and upgrade the state’s aging transportation infrastructure, there is no practical alternative to reinstalling tolls on some of Connecticut’s highways. But state leaders should not ask residents to pay tolls until they have a guarantee the resulting revenues will be used strictly to meet transportation needs.
Toll revenue has several advantages over a big increase in the gas tax, the other viable option. The gas tax falls far more heavily on state residents, while tolls capture revenue from vehicles that travel through the state but never gas up here. As gas mileage continues to improve in motor vehicles, gas-tax generated revenues drop. And unlike a gas tax, traffic engineers can use tolls to encourage changes in commuting behavior.
Last week the Transportation Committee approved a bill to return tolls to Connecticut highways, with details left for another day. The 19-16 vote came on a straight party line, Democrats for and Republicans against. The ability of the Republicans to block the vote was stymied because the bill originated in the House. Had it originated in the Senate, Republicans could have split the committee into House and Senate votes and blocked the bill in the Senate on a tie committee vote.
A 2015 consultant’s study, contracted by the state Department of Transportation, concluded tolls could raise $62 billion over 25 years. The state would recapture the cost of installing the toll technology in the first year of toll collection, the study concluded. Connecticut would utilize electronic tolling, without the need for drivers to pause at collection booths.
Tolls strategically located near state borders could generate revenue from out-of-state drivers. In a couple of key urban bottlenecks, congestion pricing could persuade drivers to avoid rush hours. Congestion pricing assesses higher toll fees during periods of peak demand, encouraging drivers to avoid those times if they can.
Any reintroduction of tolls must be contingent upon enactment of a so-called lockbox state constitutional amendment prohibiting the legislature from diverting for non-transportation needs funds, including tolls, which are set aside in the Special Transportation Fund. Connecticut residents need the assurance that the money they spend on tolls is used to maintain and improve highways and other transportation systems and not diverted to meet other needs.
Editor's note: The editorial was updated to correct the description of Senate procedures.
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