Wake County mayors cautiously approved more work on a proposed western Wake toll road Wednesday after state turnpike officials responded to their concerns about how tolls would be collected and spent.

"We understand this is not an easy decision," David W. Joyner, director of the N.C. Turnpike Authority, told mayors and other local officials who make up the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. "Nobody is crazy about toll roads, especially being the first toll road in the state."

Joyner said that the Triangle Parkway through Research Triangle Park and the Western Wake Parkway, extending Interstate 540 from RTP to Holly Springs, could be built by 2011 if state and local officials approve them next year as toll projects. If Wake County relied on traditional highway funding, he said, the roads might not be open before 2035.

Several mayors sought guarantees that local tolls would not be spent elsewhere in the state and that toll collection would cease when the $800 million, 16-mile project was paid for. Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker said that the state should pay a projected $12 million per year in costs that tolls would not cover.

Joyner promised to negotiate terms on these issues. Meeting a few hours later, the state turnpike board pledged to spend tolls only in the highway corridors where they are collected.

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