Virginia senators say they’re considering a truck-only toll along Interstate 81 as a way to “focus efforts and money on improving I-81.”
Sen. Mark Obenshain (R – Va.) filed a bill on Friday, January 19th, instructing the Commonwealth Transportation Board and the Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment to conduct a study regarding truck only tolls on Interstate 81.
If the bill is put into action, truck only tolls would be instituted along the length of I-81 in Virginia, and the funds would go towards improving the infrastructure of the roadway.
“This study will determine the financial impact of tolling heavy commercial vehicles that use our interstate and the potential benefits of using that revenue to fund safety improvements,” said Obenshain in a press release.
“Almost half of statewide truck traffic runs along this interstate and about a fifth of crashes involve a heavy truck,” Obenshain continued.
“With over 2,000 crashes per year… we must be willing to look at creative methods to find substantive solutions to this problem… I am confident this bill will help us identify solutions to a very real safety crisis.”
Senator Obenshain, as well as Senator Bill Carrico, co-sponsor of the bill and chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, say that truck only tolls would improve both the condition of the road, and the number of crashes, but a local truck driver says that it could only make things worse according to WSL News.
“You would have a whole lot of guys like me that don’t run the toll roads because it’s so expensive. That would put us back on the old roads,” said trucker Roger Bartley, who frequents I-81.
Despite the potential for an influx of tractor trailers on older, back country roads, the Senators insist the tolls will improve travel on I-81.
“We need to focus our efforts and money on improving I-81. It has been overlooked for too long, and Virginians in Southwest Virginia and the Valley deserve better,” said Carrico.
“This bill is an innovative approach, and I look forward to seeing the results of this study.”
Virginia is not the first state to consider truck only tolls, as Rhode Island is preparing its first truck only tolls for launch this spring along I-95.
According to The Roanoke Times, Obenshain has also filed another bill targeting truckers, this time ordering the Virginia Department of Transportation to begin a pilot program requiring semi trucks to travel only in the right lane.
