Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Drivers traveling on the Triangle Expressway will be paying more beginning Sunday, as the toll rate increased 3.5 percent.
A person traveling the entire distance of the toll road, about 17 miles, will pay $3.13, up 9 cents from the previous total. Customers paying through bill-by-mail will pay $4.81, an increase of 16 cents.
Money from tolling is used to pay bonds sold to fund the highway as well as maintenance.
The bonds issued by what was then called the North Carolina Turnpike Authority were specific to the 540/147 project. All the proceeds from selling the bonds was spent on 540/147, and all the revenue from tolls (less operational and maintenance expenses of 540/147 itself) goes to bondholders. In short, they're not gouging Triangle motorists to pay for roads elsewhere.
Two other projects that had been contemplated for toll funding -- the Garden Parkway between Charlotte and Gastonia and the Cape Fear Skyway bridge in Wilmington -- have been abandoned as infeasible for the time being. Time will tell whether the Mid-Currituck bridge, another toll project, ever gets built. Aside from the completion of 540 and the express lanes on I-77 (which probably contributed to McCrory's defeat), I haven't heard of any further toll projects in this state. NCDOT quickly gave up on the idea of tolling I-95 to pay for a rebuild.
The place where tolls would make sense is NC 12 on the Outer Banks, with an annual cap for local residents. NCDOT spends a ton of money keeping NC 12 open for out-of-state tourists.
The place where tolls would make sense is NC 12 on the Outer Banks, with an annual cap for local residents. NCDOT spends a ton of money keeping NC 12 open for out-of-state tourists.
Meanwhile, people continue to move here and keep their expired out of state license plate for years to avoid paying local taxes. I'm not saying Trump is the world's hero by any means, but I think the state should adopt some of his ideas and clamp down on the cross state migration problem "making NC great again" to speak. Start invoking hash penalties and treatment for everything from tax avoidance to people moving here with vehicles that would never pass NC inspection, driving around with their noisy mufflers that can be heard for miles.
Out of state plate and not in a tourist zone? Immediate suspect.
The place where tolls would make sense is NC 12 on the Outer Banks, with an annual cap for local residents. NCDOT spends a ton of money keeping NC 12 open for out-of-state tourists.
I agree with you but I can only imagine the backlash from the locals down there. However, they chose to live there and the amount of money the DOT spends every year to literally rebuild and maintain that road is crazy.
Out of state plate and not in a tourist zone? Immediate suspect.
If that out-of-state plate is expired, the driver can be pulled over anywhere anytime. But if the owner is paying to keep the out-of-state plate current even though he/she now lives in NC, there is no probable cause for a pullover and even if there were, the LEO wouldn't know that the driver now lives in NC unless the driver had been stupid enough to get an NC drivers license but keep an out-of-state tag. About the only way to detect it is if there's an accident and someone's insurance company gets inquisitive.
How much of the tolls are going toward the completion of North Carolina Highway 540/Interstate 540?
None of the current tolls are going to those roads. Once they are completed and opened, the tolls on those roads will pay for them as they will have separate bonds from what's existing.
I like the idea about highway 12. Seems like it would be simple enough to put in an automatic cap for anyone registered in the counties it goes through. Personally, I don't mind the idea of tolling 95 either and feel like it could have been done in such a way that minimizes impact on local residents.
Personally, I don't mind the idea of tolling 95 either and feel like it could have been done in such a way that minimizes impact on local residents.
Yeah, if NCDOT had worked with local politicians, chambers of commerce, etc quietly in advance and come up with a plan that mitigated impact of tolls to the locals, the outcome might have been different. But the plan was publicized prematurely, and now the well is poisoned.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
