Don't count on highway tolls

Toll roads are periodically suggested as a way to help fund South Carolina's major road needs. Greenville's Southern Connector, however, is an example of their risks.

After years of struggling to meet its bond payments, the privately financed toll road filed for bankruptcy this month. A court is expected to determine its future later this summer.

The road was conceived as a conduit for industrial development in southern Greenville County. But that development didn't occur at the anticipated rate. Consequently, traffic was insufficient to provide the needed level of toll revenue to pay for its construction.

Private investors aren't the only losers in this project. The highway is part of the state system, and has been maintained by the Department of Transportation. While the tolls were supposed to generate sufficient revenue to pay for that work, the state ended up covering the expense.

South Carolina's experience with toll roads is limited and mixed. The state operates a single toll road, the Hilton Head Connector. Traffic on the resort island expressway has been more than sufficient to sustain the expense of the road. Unlike the Southern Connector, that road is solely the state's responsibility.

One of DOT's priority projects is the construction of I-73 from the North Carolina state line to Myrtle Beach. The agency has been authorized by the Federal Highway Administration to toll the project to help pay its $2.5 billion cost. A public-private partnership is a possibility, if the state DOT board approves the toll option. Toll proposals for the interstate should be closely scrutinized in view of the Southern Connector's failure.

Meanwhile, the Legislature should look to other sources of revenue for state highways as the economy improves. At 16 cents, South Carolina's gas tax is the lowest in the Southeast, and one of the lowest in the nation. Despite the clear need for more road money, the tax hasn't been increased in more than 20 years.

Like tolls, the gas tax is a user fee. The disadvantage of tolls is evident in the Southern Connector's failure. The connector is evidence that tolls can't be counted on as a simple, painless solution for funding new highway projects.