[poll].Interstate 81 (VIRGINIA) TOLLS!

[beatle]

Wow, Ironto is now a "safety area?" Glad I never got pulled over while blasting through that stretch. You can also take 311 all the way to Roanoke and only hop onto 81 for a couple miles.

I never saw the need to improve 81. It was always in great shape and traffic was very rarely a problem. People living in SWVA should not have to pay for NOVA's awful traffic problems, if that's what these tolls are for.

 

[Hubris]

They're doing the same kind of thing in MA, and it's become a HUGE mess. The Big Dig, which was supposed to make traffic in and around Boston much better, is hugely behind schedule and over-budget. Plus, the people of Western MA have to pay for it, even though a lot of them will never go near it.

On the one hand, it sucks to pay for something you'll never use, but I can also see the point, that as part of the state, you need to contribute to that state, regardless of whether you'll reap the benefits of that particular project.

But whatever; tolls suck. Least going from RI to Ithaca it's only like $3.20-3.70, depending on which route I take.

 

[alm4rr]

On a side note on the big dig, I'm not sure if they ever planned for an OK type bombing (ryder truck) If you look at the schematics, the road tunnel is the lowest strata - trains and communication lines and water/sewage piping is all above it. A ryder truck bomb would really REALLY mess things/people in cars up as it would blow up and out.

 

[maziwanka]

try new york city parking tickets.

 

[toant103]

Originally posted by: Triumph

Originally posted by: MIDIman
Thx for the invite alm4rr - I hadn't heard about this.

How long until western Virginia turns into the New Jersey Turnpike?

This is a great point, but honestly, this began a long time ago. Anyone who has driven the Roanoke -> Blacksburg spur can see it.

I used to drive the entire VA striip of 81 - Winchester to Blacksburg - nearly 2-3 times a month. Fortunately, my ex-girlfriend and I broke up but I can't imagine how much that would've sucked with tolls added to it. Sure they say it will be cheap, but look at how the costs of the Dulles Toll road rose so quickly.

I'd like to see more info about this. Although 81 looks great now, in reality, perhaps they are expecting a large increase in traffic to happen within coming years and they want to keep it looking good by getting extra income? If its the only way to keep the road in good shape, I'll have to agree with it, but I'd like to see other options first.

What, are they charging tolls now from Roanoke to Blacksburg?

If so, take either the Ironto exit or follow Catawbwa (sp?) Valley. Both much more scenic and more fun.

only if you have a good handling car like WRX.

 

[Freejack2]

Roads in the Northeast are rapidly turning into a pain to drive. The thruway from NYC to Albany is always a mess. During holidays and weekends the Woodbury-Harriman barrier is backed up for miles. The garden state and NJ turnpike when I have the displeasure of driving them are often backed up to the end of the world. The only nice toll road in the region is the Mass pike from the New York Border to Springfield.

 

[alm4rr]

Federal DOT paperwork on VDOT requesting tolls:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/032003.htm

Here's an old 2002 link from trucking association (before they talked about tolling cars, too)
http://www.truckline.com/stateside/news/020702_virginia_toll.html

Here's one of the construction companies lobbying for it so they can win the bid:
http://www.improve81.com/mediainformation.asp

Here's a link to Roanoke Times newspaper article (2/2004) on it:
http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/news/story162216.html

 

[T2T III]

I don't see why the western half of Virginia gets to pay for Tidewater's and NoVA's road improvements AND pay for our roads PLUS pay tolls each time we want to drive somewhere. Recently, NoVA and Tidewater were given the choice via referendums on local tax increases to pay for their roads and they voted it down. However, the West doesn't get that choice - we will be forced to pay use fees on our one main road. (Nevermind that NoVA and Tidewater have a network of interstates and high capacity roadways vs. our one)

Actually, it's usually NoVA that gets screwed. For all of the tax dollars collected on our incomes, NoVA never gets back what was put into taxes. I think it would be interesting to see how much better the transportation network would be in NoVA if the proper share of taxes was applied to our transportation network.

 

[Siddhartha]

Well, who wants to pay more taxes? Why can't all these services be free? Why should I pay for schools, roads, etc that I do not use or use that frequently?

 

[alm4rr]

Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech

I don't see why the western half of Virginia gets to pay for Tidewater's and NoVA's road improvements AND pay for our roads PLUS pay tolls each time we want to drive somewhere. Recently, NoVA and Tidewater were given the choice via referendums on local tax increases to pay for their roads and they voted it down. However, the West doesn't get that choice - we will be forced to pay use fees on our one main road. (Nevermind that NoVA and Tidewater have a network of interstates and high capacity roadways vs. our one)

Actually, it's usually NoVA that gets screwed. For all of the tax dollars collected on our incomes, NoVA never gets back what was put into taxes. I think it would be interesting to see how much better the transportation network would be in NoVA if the proper share of taxes was applied to our transportation network.

NoVA had the opportunity to vote for an increase in NoVA transportation dollars but voted it down.

NoVA's overall tax bill is particularly high b/c of the property taxes, which you probably know, are mostly allocated to local education and administration. Fairfax just made headlines again b/c for the Nth consecutive year they are raising taxes to increase the school budget.