By Elizabeth Hillgrove

Some Northern Virginia lawmakers say the threat of increased gridlock on Interstate 95 might save the region from new tolls on the interstate.

Last week, Virginia Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton floated a proposal before Senate Finance Committee members that would put a $2 per axle toll on cars entering Virginia from North Carolina on I-95.

The General Assembly would have to agree to transfer approval currently waiting to be used to create new lanes for through truck traffic on I-81 to all of I-95. The state could use the new revenue to maintain and safeguard Virginia's busiest highway, while redistributing the budget currently used on I-95 elsewhere in the state because all the toll money would be tied to I-95.

Connaughton expects the toll to bring in between $30 million and $60 million annually, what he calls a conservative estimate, with at least $25 million of it committed to maintenance each year. In this the idea stage, Northern Virginians will not face a toll on their end of the state, which eases Prince William County Delegate Luke Torian's (D) mind.

"I think we're going to have a hard time if we put some kind of toll booth on the northern end of Virginia, where we are in Northern Virginia, because right now we're faced with a tremendous amount of congestion and to do that would create a significant problem for, not only our local commuters, but family vacationers who come into the northern Virginia quarter," said Torian. "I just think that it'd be rather disastrous."

The proposal does not include planting a toll near Washington, D.C. and Torian doesn't expect Gov. Bob McDonnell's administration to advocate for one.

"We have enough challenges with the Springfield interchange area," said Torian.

Instead, the Virginia Department of Transportation is working on the $2 billion, public-private I-495 High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes project that aims to shorten and soften commuters' morning and evening drudgery. Commuters in the nation's capital could pay a toll to the four new HOT Lanes on part of the Capital Beltway for a less crowded and commuter-only trip to work when construction is completed.

Torian says that "tolls in Virginia should be a part of the dialogue in regards to solving our transportation issues."

Delegate Bob Marshall (R-Prince William) agrees that the vehicle count in Northern Virginia would make a toll in the northern stretch of I-95 difficult.

"It's the idea that the users pay the bill, but gas tax involves more than the use of the road because you buy gas for a chainsaw or lawnmower or garden tractor or something else," said Marshall about the toll.

Right now, the I-95 asphalt, bridges and safety are maintained and improved using state funds, matched at a rate of 90-10 with federal gasoline tax revenue. The Virginia transportation department is drawn to the toll over relying on the gas tax because higher mileage technology rolls off automobile drawing boards each year.

Automobiles registered in Virginia increased by about 2.4 percent this year, miles traveled by Virginia vehicles increased by 1 percent, but fuel tax revenue decreased by 1 percent.

Safety improvements on I-95 amount to $176 million, pavement improvements will be $155.8 million, structure and bridge improvements will be $382 million and operational costs come to $56 million in total for the corridor improvement project goals. As Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple (R-Arlington) pointed out during Thursday's meeting, if the toll generated $50 million each year, a conservative guess in Connaughton's idea, it would take 30 years to pay for each of these projects after subtracting the annual maintenance budget.

In 2003, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) granted approval for Virginia to create new lanes for trucks ferrying along I-81 and toll them. The FHWA says they are still reviewing the transportation secretary’s proposal and could not say if they expected to approve I-95 for the pilot program.