Although its unclear just how much influence the Department of Transportation's surface transportation authorization bill, called GROW AMERICA, will have (if any at all), the bill makes apparent a sea change with regard to tolling of the interstates.
"With pressure mounting to avert a transportation funding crisis this summer, the Obama administration Tuesday opened the door for states to collect tolls on interstate highways to raise revenue for roadway repairs," report Ashley Halsey III. "The proposal, contained in a four-year, $302 billion White House transportation bill, would reverse a long-standing federal prohibition on most interstate tolling."
The detail of the GROW AMERICA transportation reauthorization bill proposed by the Department of Transportation follows up on earlier hints by Transportation Secretary Foxx that the Obama Administration would be amenable to such changes.
Curtis Tate provides more coverage of the possibility that the federal government could end the longstanding prohibition of tolling on interstate highways, including opposition to the idea from "trucking industry and motorist groups."
Tanya Snyder also followed up on Streetsblog's initial coverage of the GROW AMERICA proposal with more details of what the proposal would or would not do. The latter is much more likely, however, according to Snyder: "President Obama’s funding plan — although it may align with that of the head tax man in the Republican House — has already been dismissed as a political non-starter."
FULL STORY: White House opens door to tolls on interstate highways, removing long-standing prohibition

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