
DATE: Thursday, June 19, 1997               TAG: 9706190397

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   95 lines

TOLL BRIDGES AHEAD?: HAMPTON ROADS FACES TOUGH CHOICES IF IT WANTS A NEW BRIDGE-TUNNEL

Planners raised the prospect of a $1 or $2 toll on trips between South Hampton Roads and the Peninsula Wednesday as one way to pay for a new crossing.

The tolls would be on the James River Bridge and the Hampton Roads and Monitor-Merrimac bridge-tunnels, as well as the new road.

But not even that would be enough.

Hampton Roads residents would have to pay at toll booths, gas pumps and cash registers to raise the estimated $1.5 billion to $3.3 billion needed. The new crossing is seen as a way to alleviate traffic tie-ups that threaten to choke the region's economy.

The options, presented by transportation planners to the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, are not formal proposals. They were meant to demonstrate how the region might find the money.

``This is something that can be done,'' said Arthur L. Collins, executive director of the regional planning body. ``It would require suffering, it would require pain, it would require difficult priority setting.''

Whatever the benefits, planners know they're in for an uphill fight when it comes to tolls.

``The numbers are there to do it,'' said Joe Frank, planning district commission chairman and Newport News mayor. ``We'll just have to bite the bullet. Tolls will certainly be controversial. Tax increases will be controversial.''

Several roads and tunnels in Hampton Roads at one time charged tolls, but were lifted due largely to public and political pressure.

When the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel opened in 1957, it carried a toll of $1.25. In today's dollars that's equal to almost $7. The toll was removed in 1976.

``We'll need to educate the public and inform the public on the importance of this project to the future of Hampton Roads,'' Frank said.

The regional planning body is expected to vote next month on whether to build a new bridge-tunnel and where to built it.

The Commonwealth Transportation Board will vote on the proposal in September. If approved, a detailed study, including financing methods, would be prepared.

A toll of $1 would generate an estimated $80 million a year. Because higher tolls usually reduce nonessential trips, about $145 million would be raised with a $2 toll. At peak commuting hours, motorists would be assessed a premium of either 50 or 85 cents. James River Bridge tolls would be 50 cents or $1.

Every crossing would carry a toll so motorists will not clog the free crossings to avoid paying.

If only the new facility charged a toll, ``the elasticity of demand will wreak havoc on the other facilities,'' said Dwight L. Farmer, Planning District Commission transportation director. ``They will shut down during peak periods and seasons.''

The scenarios, developed by the Planning District Commission and consultant Michael Baker Jr. Inc., also include tax increases for Hampton Roads residents. The size of the assessments depend on how much state and federal money is appropriated.

Sales taxes could rise from 4.5 percent to 4.75 or 5 percent, generating $27 million to $54 million a year. Gas taxes could rise by 4 cents to 7 cents a gallon, resulting in $33 million to $58 million a year.

Virginia's gas tax of 17.5 cents a gallon ranks among the lowest of the Mid-Atlantic states. A 7-cent increase would bring the region near the top, but still behind West Virginia's 25.35 cents a gallon.

If a new bridge-tunnel is built, traditional funding mechanisms such as tolls and taxes will be the likely funding sources, planners said.

A technical committee of the Planning District Commission rejected more innovative financing like payroll assessments, commodity assessments on coal shipped through Hampton Roads ports and Department of Defense funding.

The efficiency of the transportation system affects the region's quality of life and economic vitality. That is why subcommittees of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce and the Hampton Roads Partnership have endorsed building a new bridge and tunnel.

``A third crossing is vital to the economy of Hampton Roads and vital to the continued commerce between the Southside and the Peninsula,'' said Barry E. DuVal, president of the Hampton Roads Partnership, a public-private venture charged with improving economic development opportunities.

DuVal said that the Partnership supports the project as long as it does not divert money from other important transportation projects. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

The Monitor-Merrimac Bridge tunnel is one of the three routes to the

Peninsula and the other

Graphic

FUNDING OPTIONS

WHERE: The James River Bridge, the Hampton Roads and

Monitor-Merrimac bridge-tunnels, and the new crossing.

HOW MUCH: $1 or $2. At peak commuting hours, a premium of either

50 or 85 cents would be assessed. James River Bridge tolls would be

50 cents or $1.

EXPECTED REVENUE: At $1, about $80 million a year. At $2, About

$145 million.

OTHER INCREASES: Sales taxes could rise from 4.5 cents per dollar