S.C. Proposes Tolls for I-95

Light & Medium Truck, Jul 2006

South Carolina highway officials want to charge tolls along Interstate 95 in two or three years to pay for neglected maintenance on the freeway. The Associated Press reported.

If federal officials and state lawmakers approve the plan, it would be the first federal highway in the state to charge tolls, AP said.

State Department of Transportation officials have filed a form expressing interest with the Federal Highway Administration, said Susan Johnson, the agency's director of engineering outreach.

State law does not allow charging tolls on existing highways, so the measure would require both federal approval and a vote by the state Legislature, AP said.

"We're not making a decision to toll or not to toll," said Tee Hooper, the agency's board chairman. "DOT is only positioning itself in the event the Legislature made that decision."

Rick Todd, president of the South Carolina Truckers Association, said charging tolls would create an unnecessary expense for businesses. "We just think it's a bad precedent to toll our interstate highways," he said.