PAY AS YOU GO

Toll financing is emerging as a prime means, even the method of choice, for funding major expressway projects. The new roads will need close and instant access, and planners are asking whether it will result in a change in land development patterns. U.S. Department of Transportation standards aplied to tollway roadside development may be less stringent, and so environmental problems may be overlooked. The history of toll roads in the U.S. is brefly reviewed, and the new crop of toll roads are discussed. Texas experience with two roads, the Hardy and Sam Houston tollways are described. The financing of the roads and their advantages (can be constructed faster than conventional highways; less frequent ramps keep traffic moving faster) are noted. California's plans for a 70-mile, 3-corridor network of tollways are discussed. One of the projects, the San Joaquin Hills corridor, paid unusual attention to the aesthetic aspects of design. Experience in Illinois and Kansas is described. Five toll road demonstration projects described by Congress in its federal highway reauthorization act (1987) are discussed.