Should Toll Roads Be Used In Michigan (Subsidized Roads)

Should Toll Roads be used in Michigan?
Outline
Introduction- opening statement
- Thesis statement
Body
-history of toll roads
-Interstate and toll roads combined
-Advantages of toll roads
-Funding for construction and repair
-toll plazas vs. rest areas
-disadvantages of toll roads
Conclusion
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the argument that Michigan should have toll roads. Michigan has never had toll roads, and with changing social, economic, and political factors, the debate on whether or not such roads are necessary for Michigan, continues. Economists, politicians, environmentalists and other categories of Americans living within and outside Michigan hold diverse views on the debate. Interviews, senate proceedings, journal findings and various other sources are cited in reaching a conclusion. By citing key defenses mounted by both supporters and opponents of the existing debate, this paper finds that Michigan needs to have toll roads.
Should Toll Roads be used in Michigan?
Toll roads are a major economic asset to various U.S. states and the entire nation. For the state of Michigan, toll roads have been a long-debated issue. The lack of toll roads was initially pegged and justified on an economic basis. Arguments have, however, been raised by different stakeholders pertaining to the need to consider having toll roads in Michigan. This has, to a significant extent, been motivated by the fact that all neighboring states have toll roads. This paper discusses the current shift in attitude, examining the current status, quality, and nature of the roads in Michigan and establishes that it is time to consider constructing toll roads in Michigan.
Toll roads have a long history. In the early days during the 19th century, toll roads were privately owned as population density was low and the travel distance was less than it is at present. Highway systems emerged later as automobile technology advanced in the early 20th century. Governments were compelled to design, construct, and operate toll projects. In the 1920s, centralized state agencies started funding and implementing road projects and later, federal funds were released as ownership of toll roads reverted from private to state control (Wallace & Heliums, 2008, p. 495).
The 1916 Federal-Aid Road Act and the 1921 Federal Highway Act authorized federal funding of toll roads (Wallace & Heliums, 2008, pp. 496- 497). By 1927, Congress had started allocating funds towards toll projects. Between 1970 and 1990, Congress increased funding significantly, through various federal transportation funding sources. Currently, however, the 1956 Federal Highway Act prohibits Interstate toll roads and the use of federal money for tolls except for certain conditions which must be met, as dictated by the Act. The Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1978 and the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 are other key Acts that have affected federal support of tolling in various ways (Wallace & Heliums, 2008, p. 497).
Various advantages are associated with toll roads. First, toll roads make it possible for the free flow of traffic to be achieved. In modern days, most toll roads utilize the latest electronic ...