Wyoming Legislators Consider Tolling I-80

This story appears in the June 22 print edition of Transport Topics.

Wyoming legislators are considering a highway funding plan that could cost trucks more than $100 in tolls to run the full 400 miles across the state on Interstate 80.

Tolling I-80 is among the options contained in a consultant’s report the state commissioned last year, seeking ways to fund transportation maintenance and investment.

A series of public meetings on the consultant’s report was held around the state recently by the Wyoming Department of Transportation.

Members of the trucking industry were on hand at each meeting to voice opposition to tolling existing highways, said Sheila Foertsch, managing director of the Wyoming Trucking Association.

“And tolling is one of the options,” Foertsch said. “It may not be feasible, and it may not be viable, and it certainly isn’t something we support, but it does need to be on the table when it comes time for the legislators to discuss how are we going to fund, and if we’re not going to toll, then what is our other option out there?”

WYDOT is making a good-faith effort to put all the funding options on the table in the consultant’s report, Foertsch said. The report also said tolling both cars and trucks on the interstate was an option.

According to an Associated Press report, however, state Sen. Michael Von Flatern (R), co-chairman of the joint transportation committee, said the committee is leaning toward tolls only for trucks.

The interstate carries about 13,000 vehicles a day through the state, about half of which are heavy trucks.

Wyoming would need federal approval to institute tolls on I-80, however, and last year, the federal government turned down Pennsylvania’s bid to impose tolls on the Keystone State’s stretch of I-80.

Another option for raising transportation funding would be to increase the state’s 14-cent tax on diesel and gasoline, one of the lowest in the country.

In the past, Foertsch said, truckers in Wyoming have supported increases in the fuel tax as long as the money was dedicated to the highway fund.

She added, however, that there appears to be little public “appetite” for increased fuel taxes.

The consultant’s final report, due in the fall, will include some of the findings from the recent public meetings, Foertsch said.