I have been pleasantly surprised by the recent talk from the Obama Administration and Sec. Foxx regarding tolls on existing highways, but it got me thinking. What is the plan for the BSB if an extra bridge is built? Would an act of Congress be needed to make the current proposal legal?
From Washington Post:
"What does current federal law say?
It prohibits states or the federal government from establishing tolls on existing interstate highways. When states expand the system — think of the HOT lanes that opened last year in Virginia, and Maryland’s Intercounty Connector — they may receive permission to apply tolls on new lanes."
My understanding is that the existing bridge, which would be maintained for a complicated combination of local roads and I-71 can not be tolled under existing federal law. This may complicate any effort to fund an extra bridge over the river for I-75 traffic if people can avoid the toll simply by using the adjacent bridge. I am going to have to re-read some documents and sort this out.
We have been reading all about how Ky needs to pass laws to allow for tolls, but do we also need Congress to take action?
Help me out in the comments if you know the answers:
Would the existing capacity be tolled? (4 interstate lanes in each direction)
Would local (non interstate) lanes be tolled?
Is Congressional action needed to add tolls to the existing Brent Spence Bridge?
I am guessing that you could get away with some kind of technicality where you toll the approach to the bridge rather than the bridge itself. Just wondering what this technicality is.
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