Arkansas Says No to Interstate Tolls

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Tollbooths are not likely to be sprouting on Interstate highways in Arkansas or elsewhere soon. A March 31 deadline for states to seek admission to a federal tolling program passed without a single applicant.

The Arkansas Highway Commission said it would not ask for tolling authority, reversing its earlier plan to impose about $100 million in tolls on 333 miles of Interstates 30, 40 and 55. The five-member panel said two road funding bills, including a diesel fuel tax increase signed into law last week, made tolls unnecessary.

But don’t celebrate too much. The Federal Highway Administration plans to extend the deadline for states to apply for permission to charge tolls on freeways.

While officials in Pennsylvania, California and South Carolina have expressed some interest in the program, Arkansas was the only state that publicly announced it would seek federal approval.

The 1998 highway bill gave FHWA the green light to select up to three state proposals for a pilot project to test the idea of turning to tolls to pay for Interstate highway maintenance.

Arkansas legislation, which Gov. Mike Huckabee signed April 1, will raise the tax on diesel fuel by 4 cents a gallon over the next two years. The current state tax is 18.6 cents.

Also, lawmakers raised the gasoline tax a penny a year over the next three years.

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