Raleigh's Tift Merritt has a lovely song that comes to mind on the General Assembly's frantic "Crossover Day." Any bill that didn't clear one chamber by the end of the day Thursday was eliminated from consideration by the other chamber.

In a weary voice, Merritt sings:

I don't want to talk to nobody,
Don't want to make no plans,
I'm so tired of this party,
I've had all my laughs.
I'll send you something when I cross over,
Something when I cross over.

Here's where we stand, after Crossover Day, on major transportation legislation: ... [MORE]

View NC tolls for I-95 in a larger map

In a unanimous vote Thursday, the House agreed to let the state collect tolls to help pay for the addition of new lanes on I-95 and other interstate highways -- but only if drivers retain the option to drive toll-free in the old lanes. (5/18/13 update: See today's story with reader comments.)

Eastern North Carolina political leaders and residents of the eight I-95 counties have opposed a state Department of Transportation proposal to collect tolls on both new and old lanes to finance a $4.4 billion widening and overhaul for I-95. The aging interstate would be expanded from four to eight lanes on the busiest 50 miles between I-40 in Johnston County and St. Pauls in Robeson County, and six lanes on the remainder of its 182 miles between the South Carolina and Virginia borders. Under the original proposal, drivers would begin paying tolls in all lanes before the project is finished.

If the Senate agrees with the House approach, DOT will have to adjust its plans.

"If they decide they want to toll any lanes on interstates that exist in North Carolina, they can only do that if they build new lanes," said Rep. Jeff Collins, a Rocky Mount Republican who sponsored the bill. "They can't toll the current lanes now in anticipation of building new non-toll lanes later. They can't build a toll lane unless they keep they same number of non-toll lanes that were in existence before they built those toll lanes."

Rep. Elmer Floyd, a Fayetteville Democrat, said the legislation will be welcome news for local residents and trucking companies that depend on I-95.

"This bill will help the poorest portion of our state," Floyd said.

Collins said DOT officials have spoken tentatively of adding the new lanes and giving them higher speed limits, as an incentive to out-of-state drivers who might be willing to pay the toll.

"There might be a 10 mph advantage to paying the toll, or something like that, if you wanted to fly through our state," Collins said. "People in my area can go up and down I-95 without paying a toll."

View NC tolls for I-95 in a larger map

The state Department of Transportation says it will spend six months and $1.6 million to assess the economic impacts of its proposal to pay for a $4.4 billion widening and overhaul of Interstate 95 by collecting tolls from drivers. (See 2/12/12 story with map and photos.)

"This study is in response to the people and businesses of North Carolina and their concerns voiced during the first stage of our study process,” said Roberto Canales, a DOT engineer overseeing the I-95 effort. “We want to make the right decisions for the citizens of North Carolina as we move forward.”

It also is in response to orders from legislators.

After the DOT tolling proposal was attacked by truckers, local drivers and local, state and national politicians from Lumberton to Washington, the General Assembly this year ordered DOT to conduct a new study that would consider: ... [MORE]

View NC tolls for I-95 in a larger map

U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers opposes the I-95 tolls plan, Franco Ordoñez reports. The Dunn Republican charges that residents in her district would be disproportionately affected since a major portion of the highway runs through the region. She sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation Wednesday calling for an economic impact study on local business and residents.

Last month, North Carolina won preliminary approval from the Federal Highway Administration to collect tolls on Interstate 95 to pay for a $4.4 billion widening project.

“While I recognize the need to maintain I-95, paying for the construction through a highway tax could be devastating to residents and small businesses along the I-95 corridor,” Ellmers wrote. ... [MORE]

View NC tolls for I-95 in a larger map

North Carolina won permission from the Federal Highway Administration Friday to collect tolls on Interstate 95, the state Department of Transportation said.

DOT is floating a $4.4 billion plan to overhaul all 182 miles of I-95, widening the four-lane expressway to six lanes -- and eight lanes on the busiest 50 miles. To pay for it, DOT wants to collect tolls from its drivers. (see Sunday's story with map, photos and lots of reader comments).

The proposed electronic tolling network is designed to allow lots of North Carolina travelers to continue making short local trips on I-95 without paying tolls. It would make it difficult, but not impossible, for truckers and vacationers who travel longer distances to use I-95 without paying the toll.

As a result, truckers (25 percent of all I-95 traffic) and out-of-state cars and trucks (55 percent) could actually end up paying more than their share of the tolls.

Check the attached Google map to see how this would affect you and your trips on I-95. Blue icons mark locations for 9 sets of electronic toll sensors on I-95.  Pink icons mark the nearest exits, before and after the sensors, where drivers going on or off I-95 also would pay tolls. ... [MORE]

View NC tolls for I-95 in a larger map

NCDOT wants to collect tolls on I-95 to pay for a $4.4 billion widening and overhaul project, border to border (see Sunday's story with map, photos and lots of reader comments).

The proposed electronic tolling network is designed to allow lots of North Carolina travelers to continue making short local trips on I-95 without paying tolls. It would make it difficult, but not impossible, for truckers and vacationers who travel longer distances to use I-95 without paying the toll.

As a result, truckers (25 percent of all I-95 traffic) and out-of-state cars and trucks (55 percent) could actually end up paying more than their share of the tolls.

Check the attached Google map to see how this would affect you and your trips on I-95. ... [MORE]

NCDOT says it wants to get moving on long-sought improvements to Interstate 95, starting in 2016 with a project to add lanes along 60 busy miles between Lumberton in Robeson County and Interstate 40 in Johnston County.

The state expects to join Virginia in winning federal approval to pay for improvements to I-95 by collecting tolls from its drivers. A long-range plan to add lanes, rebuild interchanges and replace bridges is estimated to cost $4.4 billion.

The Federal Highway Administration recently approved an environmental assessment of NCDOT's plans for upgrading I-95 from Virginia to South Carolina. Public hearings are scheduled from Feb. 7 to Feb. 27. Details and documents are online at www.driving95.com.

View Delaware Turnpike: I-95 Newark Toll Plaza in a larger map

To reiterate a recent warning: Thanksgiving holiday traffic on Interstate 95 is thoroughly clogged, with backups for miles, because of a Delaware Turnpike construction project.

I-95 is probably the worst highway on the Eastern Seaboard, and this is definitely the worst bottleneck.

It's so bad that Delaware, which collects $4 from every car at its Newark Toll Plaza, is urging travelers to find other routes to the northeast states.

How to avoid trouble? The Washington Post's Dr. Gridlock has lots of detour suggestions.

View Delaware Turnpike: I-95 Newark Toll Plaza in a larger map

Some Tar Heel travelers will experience their worst Thanksgiving traffic jams far north of North Carolina -- on Interstate 95.

The Delaware DOT is sending alerts up and down the Atlantic Seaboard, to warn of awful backups during Thanksgiving week. The culprit is a $32 million project to rebuild the I-95 Newark Toll Plaza in northern Delaware: "The predicted impacts are expected to be greater than in recent years and could stretch for miles and take hours to clear."

If you're traveling to the northeast, you're advised to find another route around the Delaware Turnpike.  Or else schedule your trip through there during the wee hours, when traffic is not so heavy.

In other words, after you make it through the I-95 horrors of northern Virginia, the worst may still lie ahead.

DOT Secretary Gene Conti favors collecting tolls at several points up and down Interstate 95 as it passes through North Carolina to raise money for a long-delayed multi-billion-dollar overhaul of I-95.

State Sen. Larry Shaw of Fayetteville likes the idea of collecting tolls on I-95, too -- but not in his district.  Shaw prefers to see I-95 tolls only at the Virginia and South Carolina borders.

The busy stretch between Fayetteville and I-40 at Benson is likely to be first in line for widening I-95, repaving it and rebuilding the interchanges. 

In an e-mail to me today, Shaw said:

As you may know, I have been a proponent of tolls for over ten years.  I believe tolls are a necessary source of revenue for maintaining and repairing our state’s infrastructure. I understand there are suggestions to place tolls on I-95 in the 25 mile stretch between Fayetteville and Benson, NC.  I believe tolls should be placed at the state’s borders to capture interstate drivers instead of the local populace.

DOT is developing a plan to phase in the needed I-95 improvements, and probably to phase in a system of toll collections to pay for it.  Details are online at www.driving95.com.