Virginia petitioning for tax on Interstate 95

The state of Virginia has sent an application to the U.S. Department of Transportation requesting to add a toll to the important Interstate 95 freight corridor.

Although adding a toll to existing interstate highways is prohibited under federal law, the Federal Highway Administration granted Virginia conditional approval last year under the Interstate System Reconstruction & Rehabilitation Pilot Program.

I-95 carries 40 percent of interstate traffic in Virginia, and is the major north-south highway along the East Coast of the United States. The American Trucking Associations, among others, are urging the U.S. DOT to reject the application, claiming that re-routing trucks off the highway could jeopardize trucking safety.

“Governor McDonnell said ‘If you don’t want to pay a toll, don’t use 95,’” said Bill Graves, ATA president. “Well, the Main Streets and Maple Avenues of Virginia were not designed for large trucks and the significant increases in traffic that come with diverting traffic off the Interstate highway system. Putting more vehicles on these secondary roads is a recipe for more accidents and increased maintenance costs for cities and counties across the state.”

If the toll is passed, trucks will have to pay $12 to pass through the toll plaza in Sussex County near the city of Emporia, Virginia.

Virginia petitioning for tax on Interstate 95

Wednesday, August 29th, 2012