Freeway isn't free; we have to pay somehow

The head of the state transportation department drew "snickers and groans" from the crowd at a public hearing as he said he wouldn't proceed with a toll road until he felt there was strong public support. One man said the public had lost all faith in the process and in the department really listening to the people.

Sharp applause broke out when the official finally acknowledged that the idea of a toll road probably faced more opposition than support.

You may think the meeting took place on the west side of Salt Lake County, where a lot of cities, and now the County Council, have passed resolutions opposing a toll road for the proposed Mountain View Corridor, which would link I-80 to northern Utah County.

It didn't. It took place in Knoxville, Tenn., and the details were reported by the Knoxville News Sentinel.

But it could have taken place here, or in Atlanta, where the state recently decided to shelve the idea of a toll road because, The Associated Press reported, "of public opposition."

Last week, when the Salt Lake County Council voted unanimously to join Mayor Peter Corroon in a resolution against tolling, they did so out of a sense of fairness. It would be unfair to toll a highway on the county's west side, when freeways remain free on the east side. Or as Council Chairman Michael Jensen told this newspaper, "The west side has helped build all the other roads, so why should the west side be punished by having a toll road just for them?"

Which brings us to the heart of the matter. For decades, Americans have been weaned on the concept of the freeway, a term that implies its users don't have to pay. In truth, however, until recently, a good share of the cost to build freeways was born by the federal government. West-siders really did help pay for I-15, I-215 and I-80, but the list of west-side contributors stretched all the way to San Francisco and on to Hawaii, just as the east-side contributors stretched from here to Maine and Florida and all points between.

Their contributions were greatly appreciated as they lowered the amount Utah had to come up with on its own. And Utahns didn't seem to mind paying a little to help build freeways elsewhere. But as with cheap gas, tail fins and rumble seats, those days are gone.

Which is why states all over the land are holding meetings to discuss things like tolls, gas-tax hikes or the possibility of selling highways to private companies.

It's also why virtually all those proposals are met by sharp public opposition. What part of the word freeway doesn't the government understand?