The first bills have just been mailed to users of the state's first modern-era toll road, the Triangle Expressway, and already the talk is of two more toll projects in this traditionally free-roads state. One is by land and one is by sea, and both are markedly different than the Expressway, which is basically a portion of Raleigh's Outer Loop used mainly by commuters.
At the coast, construction may start by year's end on a 7-mile bridge over Currituck Sound. This is a two-lane tollway connecting the mainland with a point south of Corolla on the northern Outer Banks. It'll be used largely by vacationers.
Then there's Interstate 95. Virginia wants tolls on its portion, and North Carolina is tempted too. The selling point, such as it is, is a money stream to finance repairs and road widening. Both are needed, but it's not good news that traditional revenue sources can no longer pave the way to a better road, even if out-of-staters would pick up much of the tab.
