OOIDA President Jim Johnston and several transportation groups representing thousands of members have written key House and Senate leaders who are negotiating a final highway bill. The groups want to prevent states from imposing tolls on existing interstate highways.

Such tolls would force motorists to drive on more dangerous local roads. Tolls also increase congestion on local roads, disrupt communities and result in unanticipated maintenance costs, the letter said.

In addition, tolls hurt roadside businesses such as truck stops, hotels and motels, markets, restaurants, gas stations and many others. Moreover, the cost of truck-borne deliveries will increase for those businesses that rely on the tolled route for their shipments, the letter said.

Finally, motorists and truckers have already financed road construction through fuel taxes and other highway user fees. That revenue continues to fund highway maintenance expenses. Imposing tolls on top of those taxes is unfair double taxation that is inefficient and unacceptable.

The letter concludes: “The spread of tolls will erode the concept of an unrestricted Interstate Highway System that has served well for many decades as the nation’s backbone for freight, recreational and commuter transportation needs. The House of Representatives recognized these facts when members voted to support the Kennedy amendment to TEA-LU. The amendment endorsed tolls as an option for financing new interstate highway capacity, but rejected the imposition of mandatory tolls on the existing system.”