Kicking Asphalt on Ohio's Turnpike
Word on the street is that Gov. Bob Taft is looking for ways to keep big rigs on the turnpike and off of two-lane highways.
Apparently, many Ohio residents - particularly those up north - are fed up with their local roads becoming freight corridors and the Ohio Department of Transportation isn't pleased about a growing maintenance bill. Taft's proposal to bring the truckers back where they belong is an increase in speed limits and a decrease in toll rates. [1] While this might do the trick in the short term, the current controversy might present the perfect opportunity to engage in some creative thinking about the role of Ohio's Turnpike in the state's transportation system.
For starters, policymakers should stop taxing truckers on the turnpike twice. All drivers pay federal and state gas taxes as user fees to cover maintenance and construction costs. Virtually none of these are applied to the Turnpike. Aside from a minimal and targeted return on gas purchased on the Turnpike, it was constructed and is maintained entirely by the tolls paid to travel on it. [2]
Nonetheless, every trucker now pays not only the toll to access the Turnpike (which runs just over $40 to cross the state for large trucks), but also gas taxes that are spent everywhere in the state but the Turnpike. [3] These taxes are about $70 million a year, according to the Ohio Turnpike Commission. [4] No wonder truck drivers are looking for bargains elsewhere.
Now, obviously the Department of Transportation has an interest in those funds. But there are serious trade-offs to consider. Besides the obvious safety issue of reducing truck traffic on two-lane roads, there is a financial consideration, too.
ODOT has no responsibility for maintaining the Turnpike, but it definitely does for the rest of Ohio's roadways. While the gas-tax reduction would mean a loss to ODOT, it would also likely result in significantly reduced maintenance costs as truck traffic returns to the Turnpike. This is a significant factor as ODOT is predicting a 58 percent increase in state freight-truck traffic over the next two decades. [5]
The Turnpike Commission has a role to play, as well. Part of the reason truckers may be avoiding the toll road is that rates were increased by 82 percent in 1995. Indeed, truck traffic accounted for only 56 percent of total revenues in 2002 - down from 62 percent in the year before the rate hike. [6] The Commission has said this increase was necessary to build an additional lane in the median and meet future demand. But perhaps more of the same was not what truck drivers were looking for.
The California-based Reason Foundation recently proposed an American Trucking Association-backed idea to build truck-only toll lanes in the median of major turnpikes. Not only would the lane isolate truck traffic from automobiles, but trucks would have the opportunity to carry heavier loads and travel at faster speeds. [7]
With a rebate in place, additional truck traffic should return to the Ohio Turnpike and revenues should increase. Perhaps this would be the occasion to begin discussions between the Commission and trucking industry representatives on the viability of such a project.
From the truck driver's perspective, roads do not end along state borders. That's why it may also be constructive to coordinate efforts with neighboring states. This can be as simple as sharing best practices to as bold a proposal as developing an east-west "super highway" for freight.
Ohio policymakers should make every effort to ensure that Ohio does not fall behind as the nation continues its transition into a twenty-first century economy. Transportation improvements are a key element to reaching our potential. Rather than simply tweaking the system, here is an opportunity to take the lead as an innovator. Otherwise, we may get left in the dust.
Footnotes:
[1] Associated Press, "Taft seeks changes for truckers," The Columbus Dispatch, 12 August 2004. Available at: http://www.dispatch.com/.
[2] "Frequently Asked Questions" (Berea, OH: Ohio Turnpike Commission). Available at: http://www.ohioturnpike.org/.
[3] Associated Press, "More trucks wanted on turnpike," The Cincinnati Enquirer, 31 July 2003. Available at: http://www.enquirer.com/.
[4] Gary Suhadolnik, The Ohio Turnpike Commission, telephone interview, 13 August 2004.
[5] "Study predicts sharp growth in truck traffic on Ohio routes," Gongwer News Service, 27 September 2002. Available at: http://www.gongwer-oh.com/.
[6] Associated Press, "More trucks wanted on turnpike..."
[7] Peter Samuel, Robert W. Poole, Jr. and Jose Holguin-Veras, Toll Truckways: A New Path Toward Safer and More Efficient Freight Transportation, Policy Study No. 294 (Los Angeles: Reason Public Policy Institute, June 2002). Available at: http://www.rppi.org/.
