South Carolina Seeking FHWA Approval for I-95 Tolling

he South Carolina Department of Transportation has submitted an "expression of interest" to the Federal Highway Administration seeking permission to toll Interstate 95 from North Carolina to Georgia, American Trucking Associations said.

The state said tolling would pay for reconstruction and rehabilitation of the highway.

Tolling of I-95 — the primary North-South trucking corridor on the East Coast — also is under consideration in both North Carolina and Virginia.

Missouri has already applied for permission to toll I-70 and Virginia has asked for authority to toll I-81, leaving only one slot open. In addition, no state may toll more than one rural interstate highway.

The next step in the application process is for South Carolina to submit an application to FHWA which, if approved, will be followed by an environmental review and another application which would likely to take several years, ATA said.

The state transportation department also would need permission from the state’s legislature to impose tolls.