NCDOT Toll Road Feasibility Study

North Carolina has no public toll roads, having successfully built and maintained its statewide highway system using traditional funding sources.

North Carolina is one of few states in the nation that has no public toll roads, having successfully built and maintained its statewide system of highways primarily using traditional funding sources. However, rapid growth and development throughout the last decade brought with it significant traffic congestion in both rural and urban areas, requiring the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to consider the concept of toll-funded highways to keep up with the growing travel demand.

The NCDOT enlisted the services of PBS&J to perform a toll road feasibility study that addressed four primary objectives: 1) identify appropriate organizational structure for toll road implementation, 2) evaluate required legislative changes needed to implement the organizational structure, 3) develop guidelines detailing project selection criteria and feasibility study methodology for toll projects, and 4) identify strategies for public education on toll road perception issues. The study was completed within a tight four-month schedule and led to legislation creating the North Carolina Turnpike Authority and the development of a procurement and review process for award of a private toll road franchise.

PBS&J also studied the feasibility of tolling the 180-mile segment of Interstate 95, which runs through the state, as a means of generating funding for its maintenance and widening. PBS&J prepared a preliminary improvement program cost estimate, estimates of toll revenue, and bond capacity, while coordinating with the Federal Highway Administration to investigate the potential for funding the program under TEA-21.