TOLLS: OLIVER SEES FUTURE IN THEIR USE

A Missouri Highway and Transportation commissioner said he's pleased voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have authorized construction of toll roads and bridges.

But the commissioner, John Oliver Jr. of Cape Girardeau, said Tuesday's defeat doesn't mean a dead end for possible toll roads in the future.

In fact, Oliver said he and other highway commissioners believe tolls provide a way to fund road construction projects that otherwise would not be funded.

The highway commission had opposed the proposed constitutional amendment, arguing that it was flawed.

"We thought the constitutional amendment in the form in which it was presented to the voters was unfortunate, and we are glad to see this particular amendment defeated," Oliver said.

But, he said, the commission will likely ask the state legislature to consider "viable toll road legislation in the future."

Commission members had complained that the amendment could have opened the door to partisan politics. The measure would have allowed the legislature to set up as many different toll road authorities as it wanted with no checks and balances. The highway and transportation commission would not have been the toll road authority.

Oliver argued that under the Missouri Constitution, the commission should serve as the toll road authority.

In addition, under the measure, toll road bonds would not have been backed by either state highway or general revenue funds. The result would have been higher bond rates that would have driven up the construction costs, opponents said.

The measure would have also allowed gas tax money to be used to pay all of a toll project's start-up costs, something that the highway commission opposed because it would take money away from other highway projects.

On top of all that, the new federal highway bill and increased funding for highway projects diminishes the need for toll roads, commissioners argued.

The Auto Club of Missouri also came out against the amendment, arguing that toll roads are more costly to construct and operate, and result in higher costs to road users.

For example, Auto Club officials said, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority one of the oldest in the nation spends more than $48 million annually to collect $188 million in tolls.

"This was the wrong bill at the wrong time," said Oliver in the aftermath of Tuesday's election.

But he cautioned against reading too much into the measure's defeat.

"I think (Tuesday's) defeat was messageless. There was no concerted effort for or against it. I believe people just read it and didn't like the idea of politicizing road selection. That's how I hope they read it," said Oliver.

But he said toll roads could prove a viable option in Missouri in certain instances. "I think toll roads can potentially answer some otherwise unanswerable problems."

Oliver said the federal government "is never going to keep its word as far as how much money they are going to pass out" for highway projects.

For example, in the first quarter of the new fiscal year, the federal government has given Missouri a funding commitment of only 15 percent instead of the 25 percent.

"History has proven that as long as the Eastern and Western liberals control the heartland, Missouri and other states that have significant road systems are going to be unfairly treated," said Oliver.

"As long as there are going to be sticky fingers in Washington that are going to reach out and take some of our gas tax money and not give it back to us, we are going to have unfunded needs," he said.

Toll roads could address some of those needs, he said.

"We have some places where feasibility studies might show that toll roads could provide transportation that otherwise wouldn't really be provided," Oliver said.

One such project that has been prominently discussed is a toll road from Kansas City to Chicago, Oliver said.

But he indicated that he doesn't expect to see a proliferation of toll roads in Missouri as has occurred in Oklahoma.

"Oklahoma builds almost all its big roads that way," he said. "I don't think the people in Missouri would ever put up with that," said Oliver.