Needed toll roads

We commend the House and Senate for budget proposals that include funding for the N.C. Turnpike Authority's projects.

The public expects its transportation taxes and fees to be used for transportation purposes -- particularly when bridges are collapsing and congestion is increasing. Retaining resources for transportation is exactly what the House and Senate budgets do by securing turnpike gap funding from existing transportation taxes and fees.

The Triangle Expressway is needed to provide long-term congestion relief. While no one loves toll roads -- regardless of gas prices -- the fact is that user fees will allow the $1 billion Triangle Expressway to be accelerated by decades. Toll revenues will cover the majority but not all of construction costs, and the gap funding included in legislative budgets is essential.

The Special Transit Advisory Commission's recommendations for regional bus corridors anticipate roads that may never exist unless tolls are used to build them. Toll user fees encourage carpooling, and the price can vary to maintain free flow, keep buses on schedule and encourage off-peak travel. With the Expressway's construction costs increasing by $1 million a week, the urgency to act is clear. We applaud our lawmakers for doing just that.

Rusine Mitchell-Sinclair

Chair, Regional Transportation Alliance

Raleigh