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Wake would have to resolve its own "equity" problem if drivers paid tolls on the southern arc of the Outer Loop while driving free on the northern section, Bryan said. But if tolls could speed up I-540 construction, he said, they should not be ruled out.

"We at least need to have a discussion and not automatically say 'no,' " Bryan said.

Robert D. Teer of Durham, one of two Triangle representatives on the Turnpike Authority, is ready to say "yes" to building the western and southern expressways as toll roads. Heavy traffic on an I-540 turnpike would generate enough in toll receipts to cover as much as 95 percent of the project cost, he said.

"I think it's a good idea," Teer said. "The research that we've done indicates that it can be built and opened 11 or 12 years earlier -- and maybe even better than that -- than if it waits to be funded in the state Transportation Improvement Program. So we'd probably get it open by 2010."

Joyner said DOT engineers estimated that the I-540 western expressway would not be completed before 2022, and the southern expressway would not be completed before 2032, if they depended on traditional funding.

"Nobody wants to pay a toll," Joyner said. "But if you can deliver something that much sooner to the public, the question is: Do you really want to wait another 10 or 20 years?"

The toll-road idea was floated by leaders of the Regional Transportation Alliance, a Triangle transportation advocacy group of business executives. Joseph A. Freddoso of Raleigh, a Cisco Systems executive who is chairman of the alliance, said Triangle traffic and air quality problems could worsen if I-540 were delayed.

"I think we'd be irresponsible, given that, if we didn't explore options to get it done quicker," Freddoso said.

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