Updated: Friday, July 23, 2010 12:16 PM EST
Newson6.com
By Jennifer Loren, The Oklahoma Impact Team
OKLAHOMA CITY-- Last year the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority raised tolls on all the state's turnpikes by more than 15 percent. The authority claimed a budget shortfall forced them to do it. But the Turnpike Authority may have passed the bill on to their customers when they had plenty of money to make up the shortfall themselves.
Last summer the economy was tanking and traffic was lagging on all of Oklahoma's turnpikes. The biggest problem was with truck traffic. According to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority truck traffic was down about 15 percent from 2008. This trend was projected to continue through 2009, leaving the Turnpike Authority with an estimated $21 million shortfall in toll revenue. Administrators say they were forced to cut back on road rehab and maintenance projects and were worried they wouldn't be able to make their debt payments.
"We couldn't sustain that ongoing without finding a way to increase revenues," said Tim Stewart, the Deputy Director of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.
To bring in the needed cash the Turnpike Authority's board voted yes to a statewide toll increase, leaving many Oklahoma drivers frustrated... FULL ARTICLE
Posted on
Fri, July 23, 2010
by Crystal Drwenski