Commissioners in Washington County, MD, have said they will oppose any plan to add tolls to Interstate 81 within their county.

Commissioners said they were concerned that vehicles stopping at proposed toll plaza locations would present a safety hazard. They said they also were concerned that the addition of tolls would harm economic development in the area.

Rob Slocum and John Chrisman, representing the Maryland State Highway Administration and the administration’s engineering firm Greenhorne & O’Mara, met with the commissioners at their Nov. 2 meeting to discuss the administration’s plans for improvements to I-81.

In addition to possibly widening the highway, the project would include interchange improvements and perhaps a new weigh station.

Chrisman told the commissioners the state had been working with neighboring West Virginia and Pennsylvania to locate a truck weigh and inspection station along I-81. The Maryland site proposed by the Maryland State Highway Administration sits between Halfway Boulevard and U.S. 40, where land is available for the project.

However, Washington County officials also opposed that plan, saying “logistics and traffic concerns” made a Maryland less desirable than a previous weigh station site in West Virginia. One commissioner, however, also suggested a current rest area site for the proposed weigh station.