Congress Paving the Way for Tolls on Interstates

WASHINGTON —  With traffic congestion growing worse -- and state and federal budgets as red as the brake lights from cars backed up on a Los Angeles freeway -- Congress is moving toward relaxing a decades-old restriction on tolls on interstate highways.

The legislation, backed by the Bush administration, would give states greater authority to impose tolls to reduce gridlock.

These charges could be levied to raise money for new highway construction. Or motorists could be charged varying tolls during the day, with higher tolls in effect during rush hours to nudge drivers into making some of their trips during less busy times.

The toll provisions are part of a long-stalled $284-billion, six-year transportation spending bill that is expected to clear the House today. The Senate is expected to vote on its version of the bill within a few months.

Last year, the legislation stalled amid complaints from the White House that it was too costly. But now, the administration and congressional GOP leaders appear to have settled on a price tag.

Although the House and Senate bills contain different provisions on tolls, some easing of the rules against such charges on interstates seems certain to emerge in the final version of the legislation.

The 46,730-mile interstate system has been largely free of tolls since its birth in 1956, though a number of old turnpikes, mostly on the East Coast, charge tolls.

Some experimental tolling also has been permitted, such as on a stretch of Interstate 15 in San Diego County where drivers with no passengers can buy their way into the carpool lanes. They pay tolls varying from 50 cents to $8, depending on the level of congestion in the lane at the time.

Supporters of the toll provisions say they hope to see similar projects on more highways if the federal rules are relaxed. The House bill, in fact, would give states authority to open more carpool lanes to solo motorists willing to pay a toll to speed past the traffic.

Among its other provisions, the House bill would establish three pilot programs that would allow tolls to be levied to fund new interstate construction. And it would authorize 25 so-called congestion-pricing projects on existing highways. Under that program, motorists would be charged the higher tolls during rush hours.

The Senate bill, which is still being drafted, is expected to go further. It would allow states to impose tolls on newly built lanes. It also would allow states to use congestion pricing, but not limit the number of projects.

Not everyone is eager to see more tolls.

In California, Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza (D-Long Beach), who chairs the Assembly Transportation Committee, said she would oppose any effort to create more toll roads in California.

“I have always held the view that public highways should be equally accessible to everybody,” she said. “The answer to reducing highway congestion should include a mix of more funding for highway construction and mass-transit projects.”

In Washington, opponents of tolls -- including the American Trucking Assns. and the American Automobile Assn. -- have begun lobbying against allowing charges on existing roads. They contend such tolls amount to double taxation of motorists who already have paid gasoline taxes.

The trucking industry group also warns that tolls on existing highways could drive truck traffic onto city streets, worsening traffic congestion on those roads.

But in a sign of the growing political support for tolls, the House on Wednesday rejected a measure that would have limited tolls to newly constructed lanes and required the charges be lifted once the new lanes were paid for. State highway officials were among those opposing any effort to weaken the bill’s toll provisions.

The push for tolls has gained legislative momentum because the federal government and an increasing number of states are strapped for cash to maintain highways, let alone improve them.

“No tolls, no roads,” Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) said.

The federal gasoline tax, the major source of funding for highways, has not been raised in more than a decade, and Bush opposes any increase. Additionally, federal officials are concerned that federal efforts to encourage greater use of more fuel-efficient vehicles could reduce gas tax revenue, making even less money available for highway projects.

States are finding transportation funds competing with other critical needs.

In California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed diverting $1.3 billion from transportation projects to help close the state’s budget gap.

Schwarzenegger has not taken a position on tolls on federal highways, said Patrick Dorinson, a spokesman for the state’s Business, Transportation and Housing Agency.

Federal Highway Administrator Mary E. Peters said public attitudes about tolls had shifted, in part because of technological advances. Now, vehicles can be equipped with electronic transmitters that allow motorists to pay tolls without stopping.

“People are saying, ‘I don’t mind paying the toll so much, but just don’t make me stop,’ ” she said.

The focus on imposing tolls to help pay for improved roadways comes as studies find traffic congestion growing. Between 1990 and 2001, the percentage of freeway mileage that was congested grew from 49% to 60%, according to the Texas Transportation Institute.

Robert Poole, director of transportation studies for the Reason Foundation, a Santa Monica think tank, said there was a “huge need to rebuild portions of our freeways and interstates, but very little money -- and no political will to increase federal gas taxes. So the only way to get where we need to go is with a new funding source: tolls.”

If the federal rules on tolls are relaxed, tolls would still need to be approved at the state level.

“This is very, very politically dicey,” Poole said.

Still, a number of states also are turning to tolls as a way to finance new highway projects. Texas has embarked on a massive highway construction program using tolls to fund new state highways. In Connecticut and North Carolina, state legislation has been introduced to impose tolls on highways at the state borders.

Free-market proponents frequently float the notion of toll roads when California’s state government is in financial trouble, but the state’s limited experience with the pay-as-you-go roads has been troubled.

In 1989, the Legislature authorized Caltrans to sign contracts with private companies for four demonstration toll road projects, only one of which is operating.

That case involves 10 miles of California 91 in Orange County, one of the state’s most congested stretches of highway, which since has been bought by the Orange County Transportation Authority.

The largest toll road system in California is a 51-mile network operated by the Transportation Corridor Agencies, a government entity based in Irvine.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Highway bill

The Transportation Equity Act would provide $284 billion for projects for fiscal years 2004 through 2009, up from $218 billion in the previous six-year period. If enacted, here’s where the money might go:

(In billions)

Highways $225.5

Transit $52.3

Safety $3.2

Truck safety $2.9

Source: Associated Press

Note: The bill contains about $10 billion in “earmarks” for 3,700 specific projects requested by individual lawmakers.

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Times staff writers Jordan Rau and Nancy Vogel in Sacramento contributed to this report.