Colorado bill would allow tolls on I-70; OOIDA issues Call to Action
4/15/08

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The Truckers Report Merchandise

I have no problem with toll roads if indeed, they are not the only means to get from point 'A' to point 'B'; and the toll revenue is utilized to maintain the roads. What burns me up is the situation we have in SoCal. The 91 freeway which was under-built in the first place, had toll lanes added to it over ten years ago. IIRC, a British company owned the toll lanes and as a prerequisite, they required the state to sign a "non-compete" contract (which why the state did, I don't know. Non-compete contracts are not legal and therefore unenforceable in California) preventing any expansion to ease congestion. The tolls were on a sliding scale based on traffic demand and I have paid up to $6.25 on a Friday night commute.
A couple of years ago, the Orange County Transit Authority bought it and now runs the operation. The tolls however have raised progressively higher, I've seen it as high as $13.00 and drivers still sit.
We pay road taxes and fuel taxes which in a modern society, are necessary to maintain our infrastructure. But where is all that money going? Certainly not back into our roads and bridges, and most certainly not in helping to end the traffic congestion.

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The trouble with the world is not that people know too little, but that they know so many things that ain't so
- Mark Twain

Let's support our new president,
but Obama should remember one thing,
Gray Davis.....