According to a report from WSET on January 31, the Virginia Senate Finance Committee rejected the plan to fund infrastructure improvements on I-81 by adding tolls to both cars and semi-trucks.
The plan was originally presented by Governor Ralph Northam with the potential of generating close to $2 billion for I-81 improvements; however, it would have cost truckers over $50 to cross I-81 and passenger vehicle drivers over $25.
The plan to toll the interstate caused quite the uproar within the trucking community, even having the ATA (American Trucking Associations) threatening to sue the state of Virginia as it “discriminates against interstate commerce by favouring noncommercial vehicles over commercial vehicles.”
Director of Business Development for Lawrence Transportation, K.T. Treat said, “Our top expense is labor and benefits, second largest is fuel, and with this proposal, it’s going to be our third expense for the trucking industry. That’s unfair.”
