Published: January 08, 2009 10:25 pm      

Turnpike tour planned to show need for toll hike

CHARLESTON — Higher tolls on the West Virginia Turnpike are as certain as snow in winter.

But before the “magic bullet” is fired by the Manchin administration, the road’s governing board plans to let the media inspect the deteriorating shape of the highway.

Income is down, largely in Manager Greg Barr’s estimation because of the economic doldrums, a situation that was exacerbated by $4 per gallon gas prices last summer, and overall that translated into a $4 million loss in revenues last year.

If that trend continues, Barr warned the state Parkways Authority in Thursday’s monthly meeting, it means the turnpike will have only $40 million available the next five years to apply to $238 million in deferred maintenance.

“It’s just dragged on to the point it can’t be put off much longer,” authority board chairman Joe Martin told reporters afterward when pressed about a toll increase.

Fares haven’t been raised since 1981, although the authority sought to boost them three years ago, only to have a judge in Kanawha County restore tolls to former levels in response to a lawsuit.

“We’re reaching a point where we will have to do a toll increase,” Martin said. “It’s been put off now for three years.”

Retiring board member Alan Susman asked finance director Parrish French if a toll increase would pull the toll road out of its fiscal morass.

“It’s the magic bullet that would make the problem go away immediately,” he said.

Under a legislative act passed in response to the public outcry over the short-lived 2006 toll increase, the authority is obligated to conduct public hearings in all four counties bordering the road — Mercer, Raleigh, Fayette and Kanawha. And that means any boost proposed now would take a few months to implement.

There was a faint glimmer of hope, however, in that some projects on the turnpike are to be attached to West Virginia’s wish list for Congress, and that means some paving and bridge paintings could be included in President-elect Obama’s infrastructure program.

But the next move is a plan to invite media in the four counties to engage in a milepost-by-milepost inspection of the 88-mile highway. No date was set immediately.

“The upcoming inspection is just an opportunity to let you see clearly what you’ve been hearing about the turnpike,” Martin explained.

“And why there is a concern on the part of the engineers as to the safety of the life-cycle timing for the turnpike.”

During the meeting, board member Victor Grigoraci augmented his earlier request for a “white paper” to detail the turnpike’s entire inventory and needs. Data collected for the paper would be placed online eventually so the public can get the same information, Grigoraci pointed out.

There’s the prospect of motorists not getting hit with a large toll increase at once, Martin acknowledged.

“There could be a large increase or a series of smaller increases, set to follow inflation or follow some index of increasing maintenance costs,” he said.

Maintenance director Ron Hamilton told the full board, as he did last month in Beckley before a combined meeting of committees, that one mile in four on the turnpike is considered sub-standard.

If the turnpike had been able to maintain its income level of a year ago, it would have $60 million to cut the projected, five-year deferred maintenance laundry list of $238 million.

But this year has witnessed a sharp cut in revenue, and consulting engineer Randy Epperly pointed out that rising costs mean the estimated costs of repairs will be low since the original was made last April and a newer one is coming out this April.

“Likely, those numbers are going to go up,” he cautioned.

Barr noted the turnpike had been counting on $57 million in toll money the past year but is winding up $4 million shy of the goal. What’s more, the turnpike is under pressure to maintain the road in a certain level in accordance with terms of its bond holders, he noted.

Commercial trucks made up the lion’s share of revenue on the turnpike, and some truckers already are boycotting the road.

“There will be some toll increases which cause some folks to look for alternate routes,” Martin said.

“The key is to size the toll increase in such a way as to cause a minimum amount of dislocation of traffic. And that will be part of the consideration as the increase is put together.”