Arizona has formally asked the federal government for permission to toll its 29-mile section of Interstate 15, but the governor of neighboring Utah and the trucking industry are pushing back against the proposal.
“The purpose of the proposed action is to fund a major rehabilitation effort to the Arizona section of I-15,” the Arizona Department of Transportation said in its application to the Federal Highway Administration.
“The intent is that 100% of the money collected from the tolling operation on I-15 will be applied to rehabilitation, maintaining and operating the I-15 corridor in Arizona,” the state said.
About 20,000 to 24,000 vehicles travel on I-15 in Arizona daily, of which about 24% are trucks, according to ADOT.
ADOT wants to participate in the Interstate System Reconstruction & Rehabilitation Pilot Program, which allows states to put tolls on existing interstate highways.
Earlier this year, Virginia received preliminary approval to toll Interstate 95. Missouri has also received tentative approval for a similar toll project.
Arizona officials said trucks could be tolled $6 to $10 on the highway, which cuts through the northwest corner of the state and continues to Utah to the northeast and Nevada to the southwest. Car tolls would likely be $1 to $3.
“I strongly oppose any plans to levy tolls on Arizona’s portion of I-15, or on any portion of I-15,” Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) said in a statement last month, while the office of Arizona Gov. Janice Brewer (R) did not return a request for comment.
Describing I-15 as a regionally important route for trucks, Karen Rasmussen, president of the Arizona Trucking Association, agreed with Herbert.
“They’re gouging the truckers,” she told TT, calling the stretch “a very important regional freight route.”
The trucking group has dubbed the plan “The Gouge in the Gorge,” referring to the Virgin River Gorge, which I-15 traverses in Arizona.
I-15 is largely shut off from the rest of the state, as geological boundaries make roads between the far northwestern corner and the rest of Arizona scarce.
