Benefits of Turnpikes

Benefits of turnpikes to the State, regions, and the traveling public:

• Toll revenues permit the State to leverage its limited transportation dollars across more projects
• Toll revenues allow the State to deliver projects sooner, which lowers the long-term impact of double-digit inflation on freeway construction costs
• Turnpikes create opportunities for regions to receive congestion relief years or decades earlier than would otherwise be possible by accelerating construction
• Turnpikes employ direct user fees which encourage carpooling and transit use in metropolitan regions, while off-peak toll discounts help spread peak demand
• Turnpikes provide faster travel speeds and more predictable travel times for commuters, transit users, and freight operators, which save users time and money
• Turnpikes allow travelers to choose enhanced mobility when they need it through an innovative, efficient and customer-focused transportation option

To put it another way, the dedication of toll revenues directly to a particular project results in faster and more predictable:

• Construction scheduling and project delivery for the State
• Congestion relief for the region
• Travel for the user every day

Points to remember about turnpikes in North Carolina:

• Turnpike routes in North Carolina will not have toll booths to delay motorists. Payments will occur at freeway speeds using transponders or license plate recognition.
• Turnpike routes in North Carolina will cease toll collection once the debt service has been paid. While tolls have remained on turnpikes in New Jersey, New York and other northern states, turnpikes have become toll-free in nearby states, including Virginia (e.g., Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway and Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike) and the extensive Kentucky parkway system. In addition, the statutes that created the North Carolina Turnpike Authority also provide for toll removal once all revenue bonds are repaid for the project.
• Tolls are a direct user fee that provides accelerated construction and faster, more predictable travel in exchange for the payment of a toll by the user – therefore, turnpike routes in North Carolina are limited to new freeway construction projects, rather than tolling existing roadways. State law requires the retention of toll revenue on projects originally slated for nontoll operation, and Turnpike policy affirms the retention of toll revenues for individual projects. The proposed Triangle Expressway is experiencing cost increases of $1 million per week, so the benefits of dedicated turnpike revenues for this project are clear.
• Tolls can pay for most, but not all, of the costs of a turnpike project, and a legislative gap funding supplement is required. Turnpike projects still represent a good deal for the State – needed congestion relief projects move forward for pennies on the dollar.
• Regarding the segment of 540 in Wake County between NC 55 in northwest Cary and NC 54 in Morrisville – which connects the future Western Wake turnpike west of NC 55 with the future Triangle Parkway north of the 540/Davis Drive interchange – this 2.8-mile section was converted to future turnpike status while under construction in order to help accelerate the completion of the contiguous 18.8 mile north-south Triangle Parkway turnpike corridor and reduce future toll rates.