Area transportation advocates said they were pleased last week when a prohibition against tolling made its way back into the state budget proposal.The Missouri Legislature Thursday approved a provision banning the use of funds to establish interstate tolling. The ban was originally proposed by House Rep. Bryan Spencer.It was taken out of the budget proposal after being reviewed by the Senate, but restored during a final conference between members of both houses.The budget is for the fiscal year beginning July 1.“It passed the House, it passed the Senate, and it’s on the governor’s desk,” said Spencer, whose district includes Wright City and Wentzville.Members of A Better Road Forward (ABRF), a locally based transportation advocacy group, are calling the development a huge win. ABRF has been rallying opposition against a proposal to enact tolling along Interstate 70. Leaders say they now want to push for an alternate solution for Missouri’s underfunded highway system.“We need to do some campaigning this summer and fall with some key legislators,” said ABRF Chairman Wayne Baker.ABRF also has filed an initiative petition that would add a ban on toll roads to the Missouri Constitution. If it receives enough support, that issue would appear on the 2018 statewide election ballot.For now, toll road opponents say there is little chance of the tolling prohibition being removed from this year’s budget once it has reached Gov. Eric Greitens’ desk. That means lawmakers and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) will have to find a different funding source for interstate construction.MoDOT officials say they need more revenue to adequately address I-70’s increasing traffic load and a crumbling foundation. MoDOT estimates reconstructing the more than 50-year-old road and adding a lane in each direction will cost at least $2 billion. Multiple measures that would have raised statewide fuel taxes in response to funding needs have been defeated in recent years.Tolling I-70 could only have been done with the permission of the Federal Highway Administration. That permission expires May 12 at the end of Missouri’s legislative session.However, President Donald Trump has previously expressed support for funding infrastructure projects through private partnerships. A policy shift in that direction at the federal level could reopen the debate in Missouri.Missouri State Capitol