In July 2015, Mr. Keith Nichols (Principal Transportation Engineer) and Mr. Sam Belfield (Senior Transportation Engineer) from the HRTPO staff submitted a paper to the Transportation Research Board (TRB) entitled “Analyzing the Impact of Implementing New Tolls on Existing Roadway Facilities – The Hampton Roads Experience.”  The purpose of the paper was to share the HRTPO’s case study for the Midtown and Downtown Tunnels and provide other planning agencies with research regarding regional travel impacts of tolling on existing facilities prior to capacity improvements being completed.  In June 2015, HRTPO staff completed a study of the impact of tolling on the regional transportation system by comparing the traffic and transit conditions prior to tolls being implemented at the Midtown and Downtown Tunnels with post-tolling conditions.  This research will assist local decision-makers as they determine whether tolls should be included as a funding source for candidate major highway projects. 

The TRB paper was peer reviewed and accepted for presentation at the annual meeting in Washington, D.C. in January 2016.  One reviewer discussed the value of the paper saying “real world impacts of pricing implementation are always valuable and this paper does a good, comprehensive job of documenting these.”  Another reviewer said “the paper is extremely timely, and similarly describes pricing experiences in other parts of the world.”

At the 2016 TRB annual meeting, Mr. Nichols briefed members and attendees at a session entitled “Congestion Pricing: Practical Applications of Roadway Pricing,” which was sponsored by the TRB Standing Committee on Congestion Pricing.  Mr. Nichols was one of four panelist speakers from across the nation to lead the discussion on tolling, congestion pricing, and mileage-based user fees.

Recently, HRTPO staff received notification that the paper had been accepted for publication in the distinquished Transportation Research Record (TRR), Journal of the Transportation Research Board.  This TRR publication is an exceptional achievement that will advance transportation by informing other regions on toll pricing implementation and regional travel impacts.

CLICK HERE to view the TRB paper.