Private Highways in America,
1792-1916
Daniel B. Klein
Fifteen years ago only technology aficionados and laissez-faire idealists entertained the notion of private highways. Today, however, public officials and entrepreneurs are struggling to make the notion a reality. Four private highway projects are underway in California and many other states are following suit.
The notion of private highways, which would seem fantastic to our parents, was commonplace to our great-great-grandparents. Initiated in the 1790s in the growing Republic, these roads stimulated commerce, settlement, and population. During the nineteenth century more than 2,000 private companies financed, built, and operated toll roads. States turned to private initiative for much the same reason they are doing so today: fiscal constraints and insufficient administrative manpower. Knowledge of our toll-road heritage may help encourage today’s budding toll-road movement.
The Turnpike Heyday, 1800-1825
Once the state of Pennsylvania chartered a private company in 1792 to build a road connecting Philadelphia and Lancaster, rival states felt impelled to follow. Private initiative was the only effective means of providing new highways, because state and county finances were almost nonexistent and town resources were meager. Private control and user fees were bold steps, but once taken, states could only continue to move forward. In an age before the canal and railroad, legislators were willing to test community and political custom to get highways built.
The turnpikes were financed by private stock subscription and set up to pay dividends. Built with a surface of gravel and earth, turnpikes were usually 15 to 40 miles in length, and cost $2,000 per mile to build. They were massive undertakings and relied on widespread investment from the community. Stock purchased was more like a contribution to community improvement rather than a business investment. Some travelers objected to the idea of pa
I don’t agree with the conclusion that private management of highways is better. I am biased however. I’m an engineer in a public highway bureaucracy.
It bothers me that modern private highway advocates are always willing to make money on private highways after the government puts up the money to build them.
I’ve seen the same thing with private high speed passenger rail schemes.
I drive on one of those highways - Ca. 73 - which is a bypass to congestion through Orange County (same county where the author resides/works from). As far as I know, revenue from tolls has fallen short of projections for this and other toll roads.
They were partly privately financed, but have state highway numbers and are monitored by CHP (California Highway Patrol).
The toll highways in California are a fraud. The State pays of the majority costs to build them, agrees not to improve parallel non toll routes, and guarentees the private operator a profit.
I was hoping to see if there was a parrell here with the building of Private Roads(And canals) in the 1800s to railroads…The history of the US Route System is instresting with US 1 and US 20. US 20 was started as the Boston Post Road as a way to get mail out to the interior of the US. Railroads were helped along by the Federal Goverment not only by granting Right of Way land but Natural Resource land that had trees,grain,Coal and later Oil. In the railroads infancy in New England,Towns and States Subscibed to the Railroads Stock as well as granted Eminate domain to railroads
Local subsidy of industry is not limited to transportation. More than a few enterprises of all kinds have benefitted from tax relief, low interest loans, and grants offered or brokered by local governments eager to bring business into their community.
Toll roads can certainly work, if their income is sufficient to meet costs. Many major bridges are quasi-private entities. The NY State Thruway is a going concern, and has been for decades. While it is owned by the state, it is operated as an “authority.” I don’t have any numbers (and don’t feel like looking them up), but I’m sure it stands pretty well on its own.
Private highways don’t work. Take it from me who watched the conservative government of Ontario privatize the 407. The company has expensive toll prices and so hardly anybody on the highway. It has also made the other already conjested highways more conjested because all the would be 407 traffic is now using different routes and now increasing accident rates as well as maintainance requirements.
The New York State Thruway is a “Authority” which runs I-90 and also has resposibility for the Barge Canal system. They recieve grants from the state and dole out grant to buisneses who want to locate near interchanges and Canal locks. They do make a surplus but a loath to support other modes of transportation such as rail and discourage hitchiking.
The Chicago Skyway is another tollway that just does not pay. The second that I-94,I-80 was built, traffic came off the Skyway in droves. Indiana is lucky to have no competition for their Tollway, then continuing into Ohio. High tolls + severe congestion on the other routes is the only way the Skyway gets enough money to pay the bills.
Another myth is to have the origonal bonds paid off & then remove all tolls so you could drive “free” like any other highway. The best policy is to put the money away to build a highway BEFORE you do construction. That’s what we do here in Tennessee. No taxes going to bondholders. don’t worry, the roadbuilders have plenty of projects to keep busy.
That’s what happened on the Ca 91 through the Santa Ana Canyon. Metrolink service only makes a small dent in the congestion. East of the toll section some commuters get around the congestion by blasting through parallel residential arteries…some unhappy folks in the Corona area
Actually this has happened on a couple of bridges in California. Vincent Thomas Bridge (Terminal Island) and Coronado Bay Bridge (San Diego) are now freebies in California.
But the toll roads are the opposite…the tolls keep rising (much faster than inflation) but I think it is worth it to avoid the congestion. I haven’t reached the breaking point yet!
The only problem with that is although those routes are not conjested, it means that somewhere else is. In fact it might be worse depending on what alternate route is being used, it could have a major negative effect on safety.
One of the most successful and busy private highways is the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The original four lane section between New Jersey and Ohio was rushed to completion during World War II. One of the most important and busiest section runs over and thru the Allegheny Mountains from New Stanton to Mechanicsburg. This 164 mile section connects transcontinental Interstate 70 to Interstate 81which is fed by I78 from New York. The right of way was origianlly surveyed by by the NYC interests more than 100 years ago. Never completed as a railroad the line eventually became a highway. The auto and truck traffic is awesome and continuous 24/7. I would venture to guess more freight traverses this highway than carried by both CSX and NS lines combined which parallel it. It’s that busy.
The original road ran only from Middlesex, near Harrisburg to Irwin, near Pittsburgh. Successful in what way? It’s constantly under construction, in poor condition, has the highest tolls, many accidents,many safety problems, low speeds, and congestion. It originally was to be free after the construction costs were paid off, but that will never happen.
Your historical anaylsis has a large hole. What happened to toll roads in the Northeastern and North Central U. S. with the rise on an industrial economy between 1865 and 1914. I beleve they went extinct in the face of long haul railroads fed by “free” local roads.