I wouldn't mind paying slightly more in taxes, but have no interest in the tax gouging in some states. Toll road financing is used in many places around the country and world, and when the demand is high they are a good investment. The tolls in Chesapeake are low for the regular users. I feel sympathy for the people living in the states with border-to-border turnpikes, now there is a situation were tolling may be excessive especially where these highway were built 50+ years ago.
Dominion Blvd gets good demand, and especially because the shunpiking routes are longer, it is used by most that used it before. The toll on Dominion Blvd is cheap now, but in the next 10 years, it will be way higher. The issue with the Expressway is most stick to Battlefield, even with low .75 cent tolls for locals. I travel Battlefield Blvd daily, and witness all the traffic myself. When entering the Expressway at Hillcrest Pkwy (Exit 8) going north, I rarely see cars coming over the overpass from the toll road, all them are entering at Hillcrest Pkwy from Battlefield Blvd. Many would rather pay $0.00 a day rather than $1.50 a day for a commute, when the option is available. One thing I believe the city could do is complete a full diamond interchange at Exit 5, and have a ramp toll. That would allow commuters from Indian Creek Rd, etc. to have the option to use the toll road, because currently they are locked to Battlefield Blvd. Another incentive to draw more traffic is to raise the speed limit to 65 MPH. Currently, most of Battlefield Blvd is 50, some areas 55 MPH. The speed is the same on Expressway. If it was 15-20 MPH faster, it would offer an overall faster ride. They wanted to do that three years ago, however the city complained a study would have to be done, and instead lowered the north part of Battlefield Blvd from 55 to 45 MPH.
The turnpikes have always been tolled from the beginning, and were intended to be tolled indefinitely. States with them also benefit from them, as revenue from them can turn toward other transportation improvements in the state. In Indiana, the state built over 90 continuous miles of new-location Interstate 69 in 2012 and 2016, and are currently upgrading over 30+ miles of arterial road to interstate standards. A lot of the funding, I believe over $1 billion came from revenue on the Indiana Toll Road. The original plan was to toll I-69 as a Southern Turnpike, however it was not necessary, and all 90+ miles are free to travel on.
The City of Chesapeake wanted these projects built, took them on as local projects, designed them as they pleased within basic VDOT standards, and funded them as they pleased. BTW the Oak Grove Connector and the Great Bridge Bypass were built by the state as toll-free highways, as was relocated US-17 south of Dominion Blvd.
Go to an amortization program, there are many online.
$152 million at 4.6% for 34 years = $300,892,552
$151 million at 3.33% for 34 years = $252,465,394
North Carolina is a very high taxed state, figure about 30 to 40% more each for state general taxes, income taxes, local taxes and road user taxes. Pick your poison.
Chesapeake wanted both projects, yes, however they've been competing for state funding for 15+ years before each of them came from drawing board to pavement.
I would rather pay slightly more in taxes and know I'm getting a good investment out of them. I don't agree with toll roads, never have, and never will. If the money was spent properly, a lot of these toll road projects could be avoided. I would support a tax increase in Virginia, especially on fuel, if I knew I was going to get a good investment, one seen down in North Carolina. Toll roads aren't a good investment, and for a daily user, that adds up to hundreds of dollars wasted per year. In rural areas (not southern Chesapeake, but in the middle of nowhere rural) like many of the turnpikes are, those make more sense, there's not a lot of daily users in those areas. If a Washington D.C. bypass was ever built, I could see a $5-10 toll on a 50+ mile road like that, and for good reason. In urban areas where there's a lot of daily users however, one has to invest hundreds per year just to commute, or sit through traffic on shunpiking routes.
At least these aren't as bad as the Downtown Tunnel joke.
A $5 toll on a 50 mile road around DC would be a joke. Modern building costs in a very built-up area would actually probably have tolls more in the $25-$30 range for that entire route.
The bad thing about gas taxes is that there are so many projects that are needed, that money would be going to projects throughout the entire state. Tolls tend to remain dedicated to one road (not always, as numerous examples would show), but it does allow a road to be built faster. Between the two, if a certain area wanted a road badly, tolls are still the way to go. Someone on the other end of the state wouldn't want their taxes raised for a road they're probably never going to use.
Hampton Roads uses taxes collected in the area, along with local funding to fund projects here. Only Smart Scale projects use taxes from other parts of the state, and there's been hundreds of millions contributed by HRTAC and local taxes.
As for a toll road around DC, I suppose $15-20, but not $25-30. Notice I said bypass, not through developed areas. DC is surrounded by rural land on both sides, more so on the west side. This wouldn't be no suburban 50 mile road, it would be road around 100 miles long, rural, and completely avoid DC and it's sprawl outside it for long-distance travelers. 70 MPH, six lanes, interchanges at major access points only, similar to a turnpike. Think like the Austin Bypass (SH 130) toll road in Texas, completely avoids Downtown Austin which I-35 goes through, 90 miles long, and I believe it costs around $18-20 to travel the entire length. That's the road famous for its 85 MPH speed limit.