I just found this 5-year-old video link about our toll roads.

[AlongCameJones]

The poor woman who needs special health care in the video above is getting hammered each and every month at the greedy corporate toll booth. Fortunately, I seldom have to drive on a toll road. I feel sorry for poor motorists who have to use it often. The last time I made a round trip to/from OKC/Lawton on I-44 it was about $8.50 if memory serves me correctly. My car is a little Toyota Corolla weighing about 2,000 pounds. They charge by the number of vehicle axles. I have to pay the same toll as somebody with a big two-axle truck or something like a Chevy Suburban that is two to three times as heavy as my dinky econobox. I had the inconvenience of stopping at four separate toll booths to make that 95-mile round trip to boot. To be fair, how much does it really cost to maintain that I-44 for the round trip my econobox made? Did my little car actually do $8.50 in highway wear in late 2019 to the highway to justify the toll rates? Does a big Ford Excursion even do nearly that much in road maintenance cost for wear damage? Somebody is certainly smiling all the way to the bank on this shady deal.

I would not mind paying another $25 a year on car DMV renewal to get rid of these tolls altogether. Many states maintain roads through vehicle registration fees. I-44 is not even private anyway.

Oklahoma doesn't need any more highway routes constructed than there already are. Motorists are getting hammered at toll booths for unnecessary goods. It's like a scandalous mechanic who fixes something on your car that isn't broken and charges you an arm and a leg for it.

 

[Aries]

You can get anywhere in Oklahoma that you can go on a turnpike, without getting on a turnpike. It's more likely to be two lane roads, more potholes, more traffic control devices, and will take longer, but you can do that if you choose. So every individual has to choose whether or not it's worth the expense to get there faster and with less aggravation, or not.

I don't know what it costs per mile to maintain them. The guy in the video may have an idea, but the typical driver probably doesn't yet will say "it can't cost as much as I'm paying". That's not unusual regarding anything that we think costs more than we want to pay.

Either way, the people who use turnpikes pay for them, or everyone pays for them whether you use them or not. Take your pick of which you think is better. </shrug>

 

[JD8]

You can get anywhere in Oklahoma that you can go on a turnpike, without getting on a turnpike. It's more likely to be two lane roads, more potholes, more traffic control devices, and will take longer, but you can do that if you choose. So every individual has to choose whether or not it's worth the expense to get there faster and with less aggravation, or not.

I don't know what it costs per mile to maintain them. The guy in the video may have an idea, but the typical driver probably doesn't yet will say "it can't cost as much as I'm paying". That's not unusual regarding anything that we think costs more than we want to pay.

Either way, the people who use turnpikes pay for them, or everyone pays for them whether you use them or not. Take your pick of which you think is better. </shrug>

I feel like there's some irony here the OP might not get about toll roads vs non-toll roads.

 

[AlongCameJones]

You can get anywhere in Oklahoma that you can go on a turnpike, without getting on a turnpike. It's more likely to be two lane roads, more potholes, more traffic control devices, and will take longer, but you can do that if you choose. So every individual has to choose whether or not it's worth the expense to get there faster and with less aggravation, or not.

I don't know what it costs per mile to maintain them. The guy in the video may have an idea, but the typical driver probably doesn't yet will say "it can't cost as much as I'm paying". That's not unusual regarding anything that we think costs more than we want to pay.

Either way, the people who use turnpikes pay for them, or everyone pays for them whether you use them or not. Take your pick of which you think is better. </shrug>

From the video above it sounds like current turnpike users are paying for new (unneeded) turnpikes they will never use. The whole thing was supposed to have originally been paid off in 20 years from the 1950's The tolls should have stopped by the 1970's. Only lawmakers can stop these tolls. If there were a measure to get rid of these tolls, you know how I would vote. It even makes me wonder if corrupt politicians aren't getting money under the table off these tolls, This might get fixed only if voters hoot and holler about it. By even posting a thread here, I am making more people at least aware of what's going on. If you use turnpike alternatives, you will spend more travel time and more gas money and more wear and tear on your car, so the motoring public is cornered. My Garmin GPS can be set to 'avoid toll roads and bridges'. I'm hoping this toll question will get on the ballot not too long from now. The "toll authority" (a private enterprise) should be held fiscally accountable by folks we elect come Novembers.

 

[AlongCameJones]

I feel like there's some irony here the OP might not get about toll roads vs non-toll roads.

I do know the non-toll roads will beat you to death, consume more fuel and more time. I've traveled on a few already. We are "gotten by the parts" by the system every which way. Only when people wise up and remember on November at voting time will this ever change. I heard Texas has toll roads too including around Austin. I wonder what the racket is there.

 

[Poke78]

I do know the non-toll roads will beat you to death, consume more fuel and more time. I've traveled on a few already. We are "gotten by the parts" by the system every which way. Only when people wise up and remember on November at voting time will this ever change. I heard Texas has toll roads too including around Austin. I wonder what the racket is there.

The "racket" is the horrible traffic on the bi-level I-35 through the middle of Austin. I don't mind paying to avoid that in the same way I pay to use the airport/NE bypass around Denver whenever I'm up there. It only takes one time of going N/S on I-25 to convince you to shell out $$$ to avoid it. My best recollection of the cost last time while pulling an RV trailer was about $35 in Denver.

 

[AlongCameJones]

The only way things are going change is if enough people squawk. The streets in Lawton are in constant shambles. The poor suspension and tires on my city car is taking a beating as well as my brains. I really have slow down on some of these bumps. I wish some lawyer here would file a class action lawsuit against City Hall for these rough streets so local vehicle owners could get compensated for gross wear and tear. We pay 9% on grocery taxes here. How is that money appropriated? There is a speed bump (buckling pavement) in a 45 mph zone on West Cache Road over Wolf Creek Bridge eastbound if you can believe that. Some people following me get ticked off that I slow down for the infamous Lawton bumps but that's too bad. I'm getting on the telephone tomorrow to my local mayor's office and squawk about it. I've emailed his office twice before with no reply. It's within citizen's rights to squawk to their elected officials. I always tell them I'm registered to vote and I remember on November.

 

[Oklahomabassin]

I do know the non-toll roads will beat you to death, consume more fuel and more time. I've traveled on a few already. We are "gotten by the parts" by the system every which way. Only when people wise up and remember on November at voting time will this ever change. I heard Texas has toll roads too including around Austin. I wonder what the racket is there.

Traffic. It's horrible.

 

[mr ed]

Get over it!! When more electric vehicles take over, every road will be a toll road. Somebody somewhere has to pay.

 

[KOPBET]

Do you (anyone) think that turnpike tolls you pay are just for maintenance? lol. So you think getting rid of turnpikes will make the roads free? more lol...