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.
All other exits? Toll-free. And that's most of them.
When tolling starts in 2019, a car driving all the way between South Carolina and Virginia probably would be tolled $19.20, DOT says. Tolls for heavy trucks will be higher.
DOT engineers are speaking with residents at informal public hearings this month in communities along Interstate 95. Maps and other information will be provided about planned construction that would start in 2016 and toll collection that would start in 2019. The meetings are scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m.
Monday: Johnston Community College (Tart Building/Paul A. Johnston Auditorium Lobby), 245 College Road, Smithfield
Tuesday: Bill Ellis Convention Center, 2904 Forrest Hills Road, Wilson
Thursday: Dunn Community Center, 205 Jackson Road, Dunn
Monday, Feb. 27: Double Tree by Hilton Hotel (Grand Ballroom), 1965 Cedar Creek Road, Fayetteville
The hearings will explain recommendations in the I-95 Corridor Planning and Finance Study Environmental Assessment published in January. The report and other documents are available here.
For questions or comments, contact Kristine O'Connor at 919-707-6034 or kaoconnor@ncdot.gov.
Bruce Siceloff reports on traffic and transportation. A News & Observer reporter, editor and blogger since 1976, he took over the 