For one Warrenton resident, commuting to work in Mexico means driving 110 miles each day on Interstate 70. If a MoDOT proposal to convert I-70 into a toll road is approved, it will mean a much more costly trip as well. Depending on the toll cost, which is estimated to be 10 to 15 cents per mile for automobiles and three times that amount for trucks, that commute will cost somewhere between $3,000 to $4,500 annually All of a sudden a toll road, he said, may force some residents to move closer to their jobs or find employment elsewhere. “I am here to put a face on the people that your plan will affect,” the man said. More than 100 people, mostly from Warren and Montgomery counties, attended a public forum last Thursday at Warrenton High School hosted by MoDOT Chief Engineer Dave Nichols and Northeast District Engineer Paula Gough. While the meeting was open for discussion about all local transportation issues, as expected it was dominated by MoDOT’s plan to turn I-70 into a toll road MoDOT has proposed converting I-70 into a toll road for a 196-mile stretch between the Highway 40/61 interchange in Wentzville to Independence. Three options have been proposed for upgrading the thoroughfare, ranging in cost from $2 billion to $6 billion depending on the scope of the project. Improvements could include adding an additional lane, installing new median and building dedicated lanes for trucks. MoDOT is proposing an electronic system to collect tolls from drivers. That would allow drivers to drive through a toll collection zone at highway speeds with an electronic tag placed on the windshield of a vehicle. Attendees were concerned that I-70 would hurt the county’s residential and commercial growth and lead to overcrowding on other state and county roads not designed for heavier traffic. They also questioned the possible partnership that would allow MoDOT to lease the highway to a private group. Many preferred MoDOT fund the highway improvements by increasing the state’s fuel tax, which at 17 cents is the third-lowest in the nation, or passing a statewide sales tax. That way all residents statewide are contributing in some form and not just those living along I-70. MoDOT officials say I-70 can no longer handle the heavy traffic demands and significant improvements are needed. They said the entire I-70 corridor is at least 46 years old and its oldest sections are 55 years old. However, that raised a question from Warrenton resident Josh Pellerito on why steps weren’t taken much sooner to figure out a way to fund improvements. As owner of a carpet cleaning business, he said he would be out of work if he failed to think ahead. “Now you’re coming to us for pretty much of a bailout,” Pellerito stated. “You should have had this planned a long time ago.” Another local resident,Valerie Hays, also questioned MoDOT’s plan to have local residents to pick up some of the tab to cover the highway reconstruction project. “You prepare when times are well when we are blessed as a country,” she said. “You hold back for times when we are struggling. As a country, as a town, we are struggling. Now is not the time to ask for money. It’s time for everybody to tighten up.” Nichols cautioned that no final decision on the toll road proposal has been made as MoDOT tries to figure out a way to fund the project. “It’s a very bitter, sour taste,” Nichols said regarding tolling. “We don’t know where it will go, but at least we will have a conversation.” He later added, “We’re not here to cram anything down anybody’s throat. We really are not. I assure you the (state) Legislature will not let that happen.” Nonetheless, many of the attendees were angered that MoDOT may avoid a statewide vote on the tolling proposal. Since 1970, voters have twice defeated measures to allow state toll roads and bridges. “The voters last time said no,” Warren County resident Jerry Abernathy said. “It’s your job, if you think tolls is the way to do it, to convince us and not go around us, the voters.”