Regional Economic Impacts of a Toll Road in West Virginia: A REMI Model Approach

Tolling has been emphasized as an alternative financing option for transportation projects in the United States. Toll roads offer many advantages in terms of the promise of repayment and user fairness. However, there is little information on regional economic effects of a toll road using various toll rate scenarios. This paper explores the economic impacts of a toll road with different toll rate scenarios by using REMI model. Using a potential toll plaza in West Virginia, the paper forecasts annual toll transactions and revenue estimations for the 2009-2030 period and measures positive and negative economic impacts of toll revenues on state employment, income, and gross state product. The results show that the positive effects of increased government spending on highway infrastructure are greater than the negative effects of increased personal consumption and industry costs on transportation. Positive net economic impacts are found for all toll rate scenarios. The direct, indirect, and induced effects of government spending on a new toll road may lead to greater multiplier effects in West Virginia