STATEMENT FROM TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY GENE CONTI REGARDING TOLLING ON I-95 IN VIRGINIA
The N.C. Department of Transportation looks forward to working with Virginia in exploring options for improving the I-95 corridor.
Both North Carolina and Virginia were part of the Corridors of the Future Program, which brought together five states in the Southeast to cooperatively examine how to upgrade, modernize and improve the corridor from Virginia to Florida – with a sensitivity to the benefits and impacts on each of the partner states.
North Carolina last year began a two-year study to evaluate the needs of the 182-mile corridor from Virginia to South Carolina, define and prioritize necessary improvements, and identify ways to fund those improvements. Tolling is among the options under consideration. The study considers tolling at both borders and points between, and will take into consideration through-state traffic, as well as local-only usage.
The study will include revenue-sharing options among the states along the corridor. The study already has involved extensive consultation with local officials in communities along I-95, and there is plenty of opportunity for citizen input into the planning. The study is expected to be completed by the fall of 2011. North Carolina also has made considerable progress on the environmental, financing and operational planning for the project.
For more information about the North Carolina I-95 study, visit www.driving95.com.
***NCDOT***
Tuesday, May 11, 2010