Editorial: Trolling for tolls

So are you looking forward to paying for something that used to be free to use?

If the N.C. Department of Transportation doesn’t get shouted down, that’s what will soon happen along a stretch of Interstate 95, including the portion that extends through Johnston County.

To its credit, DOT seems interested in capturing more in tolls from out-of-state users than from local drivers who use the highway as the shortest distance between two local points.

We have a chance to weigh in on the DOT’s deliberations at a meeting tomorrow night in Smithfield at the Paul Johnston Auditorium on the Johnston Community College campus.

When the interstate highway system was created more than 50 years ago, it was agreed that the federal government would build the roads and the states would maintain them.

Now, the time has come for some expensive, but important, maintenance and improvements to Interstate 95, arguably one of the most-traveled interstates in the country.

Over the life of the interstate system, cars have become much more prevalent and the affordability of moving from one part of the country has improved. All these things – plus North Carolina’s steady growth and the attraction of Tar Heel beaches – have inspired the need to have a better roadway than the ribbon of highway that currently cuts through eastern North Carolina.

DOT is aware of it. They also should be aware that Johnston County residents aren’t all that interested in paying for the right to travel from Benson to Smithfield on a road they’ve used for free for decades.

Take time to attend tomorrow night’s meeting. It begins at 7 p.m. and it’s up to regular folks like us to let DOT know if they are way out of line.