Weekly Opinion Editorial

PAY TOLL AHEAD!
by Steve Fair

Toll roads are at least 2700 years old, as tolls had to be paid by travelers using the Susa-Babylon highway in the seventh century BC., but motorists and truckers traveling through Oklahoma probably think our state motto is “Pay Toll Ahead.” Oklahoma ranks second in the U.S. in total number of miles of toll roads at 600. We were the first state west of the Mississippi to build a toll road (1953) and now operate ten (10) turnpikes - all under the authority of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.
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The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority consists of the Governor (ex-officio) and six members serving without pay for eight-year terms from various transportation districts. Governor Fallin appointed her six members in March. She only retained one of Governor Henry’s appointees, David Burrage from SE Oklahoma. Fallin can remove any member of the Authority, at any time, with or without cause. Authority members have full control over all turnpike operations.
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The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority was created by the Oklahoma Legislature on April 30, 1947 to provide for the construction of the Oklahoma City-to-Tulsa Turnpike (officially named the Turner Turnpike in 1947). The Turner was the only anticipated Turnpike project at the time of the legislation. The Turner cost a mere 38 million dollars to build and opened for traffic in May of 1953. When the Turner was built, Oklahomans were promised that when the road was paid for, the toll booths would come down. That same promise was made when the Will Rogers and the H.E. Bailey turnpikes were built, but the toll booths remain. Edmund Burke was right when he said, “Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in its promises, for never intending to go beyond promise, it costs nothing.”
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The Turnpike Authority receives revenues from turnpike tolls and a percentage of the turnpike concession sales. The Authority has on several occasions issued Turnpike Revenue Bonds for the purpose of paying the costs of turnpike projects. Turnpike Revenue Bonds are payable solely from the tolls and other revenues of the Authority and do not constitute indebtedness of the State. Currently the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority's debt sits at $1.1 billion and it won't be paid off until 2028. The Authority pays about 5 percent interest on that debt, which means bondholders will profit close to 60-million dollars from Oklahoma turnpike tolls this year alone.
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Basically the OTA is a billion dollar private enterprise run by Oklahoma government. In their annual reports, the OTA calls itself ‘a component unit’ of the State of Oklahoma. Few states have a separate entity in the highway business. Why does Oklahoma have a Turnpike Authority?
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The initial reason the Authority was created was because the Democratically controlled Oklahoma legislature wouldn’t spend federal highway dollars where they were supposed to be spent. According to the Federal Highway Administration of the 31 states that divert Motor Fuel Tax money to non-transportation uses, Oklahoma ranks second, diverting almost 24% of its Motor Fuel Tax collections.

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Fortunately legislative funding of roads and bridges in Oklahoma is changing. Since Republicans took over the state legislature in 2004, a total of approximately $1.8 billion has been allocated for upgrading roads and bridges in Oklahoma. We still have a long way to go to catch up, but we are finally on the right road.
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The real reason Oklahoma’s Turnpike Authority is still in existence is simple- MONEY! When you toss your toll into the basket, it doesn’t go into Oklahoma state government treasury, it goes to the OTA. Common sense would dictate the bulk of the toll fee would be spent on upkeep and maintenance of the road you are traveling on, but that’s not the case. According to the OTA’s annual report, only about 30% of your toll goes to maintain the road- the bulk goes to the holders of the revenue bonds. That means when you toss your coins into the basket, some investor is getting the majority of the money. You can’t blame the investors who are just trying to make a buck. You have to blame Oklahoma government for allowing this to go on for almost sixty years.

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The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority should be dissolved and placed under ODOT. It has outlived its usefulness. The toll booths should come down as promised and Oklahoma government should get out of the private enterprise/toll collecting business.