Tar Heels want toll booths on I-95
South Carolina takes cautious approach
Published "Friday
New Hampshire has it. North Carolina wants it. South Carolina is cautious about it.

The "it" is a toll on Interstate 95 that lawmakers think will spare North Carolinians a tax hike to pay for widening and maintenance of the 182 miles of the federal highway through the Tar Heel State.

A Beaufort County senator would like to see South Carolina lawmakers and the state Department of Transportation consider it as a way to avoid hitting up state taxpayers for the interstate highway system. Four interstate highways (20, 26, 85 and 95) cross S.C. borders. Keeping the interstates repaired is more expensive than state roads, about $70,000 per mile, per lane, according to Tony Chapman, The Transportation Department's deputy state highway engineer for operations.

N.C. officials are seeking federal permission to charge a toll on I-95. New Hampshire already has the toll. Tar Heel State officials say about half of I-95 motorists are from other states. A toll may eliminate the need for in-state tax increases by shifting part of $3 billion in planned road improvement costs to out-of-state drivers.

As good as the prospect sounds, a toll may have thousands of people screeching to a halt at the state line -- for either state -- because it could affect tourism, South Carolina's largest industry and a significant part of North Carolina's economy.

North Carolina officials estimate they would charge $18 for motorists to use all 182 miles of I-95. They proposed to put up six toll booths 30 miles apart and charge $3 per toll. Locals could make short trips free.

South Carolina has 199 miles of I-95 and could collect a few more dollars because it has about 8,000 more vehicles a day (42,700) between the Georgia border and I-26 than the North Carolina border and I-26.

Even though the highway near the I-26/95 interchanges will "shake your fillings out," according to Sen. Scott Richardson, R-Hilton Head, it's unlikely that a toll will be considered for a couple of reasons:

  • While a toll would hit out-of-state travelers, it also would affect South Carolinians. Gov. Mark Sanford and other Republican lawmakers have been adamant that they will avoid a net increase in taxes;

  • An $18 toll, or one half that, to cross a state is a lot of money, and that charge could affect the number of people who travel near the coast, which is the state's premier summer vacation attraction; and

  • A toll in one state could have a domino effect in other states. If North Carolina adds a toll, South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia may follow. If it cost $18 per state to travel I-95, the cost of an airline tickets begins to look pretty good.

    South Carolina needs a means to finance road improvements, secondary as well as interstate, without putting the burden on state taxpayers, but a cautious approach may be wise. Tolls may eventually become the answer, but look at the research first.

    • Copyright 2003 The Beaufort Gazette • May not be republished in any form without the express written permission of the publisher.