Say ‘no’ to creating toll roads in Wisconsin

Legislative leaders pushing for tolling on Wisconsin’s interstate highways would be well advised to carefully review the detailed study that was done for the state on this issue in 2016. It raises warning flags that should give pause to those who think tolls are the magic bullet of transportation finance.

First, even with an “open road” transponder and camera system, toll collection is wasteful and inefficient. The study estimates that up to 23 cents of every dollar collected in tolls will be spent on building and operating the toll collection system itself. This includes both the physical infrastructure and back-office functions of accounting, billing and enforcement. In other words, only 77 cents of each dollar paid in tolls will actually be spent on building and maintaining highways. In contrast, the cost to collect existing gas taxes is less than 1% of total revenue received.

Second, there is always some diversion to local routes by drivers (especially price-sensitive truckers) who prefer to avoid paying tolls. Since no state has ever converted a large interstate system from free to a toll operation, it is difficult to predict the amount of diversion. But the study estimates that up to 30% of current traffic may find other routes, at least in the beginning. Even if diversion is only a fraction of that amount, it will mean more auto and truck traffic on less safe local roads.

Finally, while transponder based open-road tolling may seem like the ultimate in modern infrastructure, it will more likely prove to be a costly deadend technology, since many experts believe that a “vehicle miles traveled” fee will ultimately replace the fuel tax. If so, this would render the state’s tolling infrastructure useless.

But isn’t interstate tolling the way to get out-of-state drivers to help pay for our highways? Gov. Scott Walker’s short-lived (and probably illegal) proposal to collect tolls only at the border was a transparent attempt to pander to this idea. Interstate trucks already pay a fuel tax to Wisconsin no matter where they purchase their fuel, and out-ofstate motorists do likewise when they buy fuel in Wisconsin. Implementing an inefficient, soon-to-be-obsolete system that will make our highways less safe, just to have the satisfaction of “sticking it to Illinois”, is a tantrum, not a policy.

Study after study has shown that Wisconsin needs to invest more in its transportation infrastructure. State leaders, starting with Governor Walker, need to own up to their responsibility to make that investment in a cost-effective and sustainable way.

Converting interstates to toll roads is not the answer.