The state will hire a firm to study the possibility of changing some freeways in Michigan to toll roads.
Republicans in the legislature have said “no” to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed gas tax increase to pay for road repairs. But some GOP lawmakers have expressed an interest in toll roads.
Jeff Cranson with the Michigan Department of Transportation says the last serious study of toll roads in Michigan took place in the 1950's.
“The governor basically is saying that everything needs to be on the table as we look to the future,” Cranson says.
Cranson says the study will look at how technology has made it easier to collect tolls, how improved vehicle fuel efficiency has affected gas tax revenue, and whether the public would support the use of tolls to help pay for road repairs.