Local News

Pay As You Go Toll Considered For Triangle

Posted Updated
triangle-parkway
WAKE COUNTY, N.C. — Support is growing for a toll road to relieve congestion along Interstate 40. The idea is to cut the commute by paying as you go.

A proposed toll road connecting the Durham Freeway with a future section of Interstate 540 near Cary would cut down the daily grind.

The Triangle Parkway would run 4 miles right through Research Triangle Park. Backers estimate it would cut nearly 20 minutes off the average RTP commute.

"This would allow people from southwestern Wake County to RTP to Durham County to Durham city and beyond to go through that area without ever stepping foot on I-40 and still stay with a free-flow facility," said Joe Milazzo of the Regional Transportation Alliance.

The pay-as-you-go road would cost drivers about $1 a day.

The plan is for drivers to use transponders about the size of a Post-It note that would be installed on windshields. Every time a drivers passes by the toll, it marks the vehicle down and drivers would receive a bill at the end of the month.

A public hearing was part of a meeting held Thursday morningat the Sigma Xi Center on N.C. 54 in RTP. A vote on the Triangle Parkway could come in September and would then need approval from the Legislature.

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.