High costs force professional drivers off the turnpike and onto local roads.

Prior to 1995, I regularly made trips to Chicago and vicinity utilizing Interstate 80 almost all the way. It was a long but pleasurable ride.

Then the Ohio Turnpike Commission decided to raise the tolls on the section of I-80 that crossed their state. In one fell swoop, the turnpike jumped its tolls 82 percent. To cross Ohio on the turnpike now costs a semi weighing between 65,001 pounds and 78,000 pounds gross weight $42.45. For vehicles weighing from 78,001 pounds through 90,000 pounds, the cost is $72.45. For truckers in the first category entering the turnpike after traversing I-80 through Pennsylvania, the total mileage cost of running the turnpike amounts to 214 miles at 19.8 cents per mile. A fully loaded 80,000-pound semi can expect to pay 33.8 cents per mile – a truly heavy hit when you consider that total compensation being paid to the truck owner can run under 85 cents per mile.

In response to such a gross increase, what do you think truckers did? They abandoned the turnpike for other slower, but less expensive routes.

According to the Associated Press, in 2002 commercial trucks accounted for 56 percent of the turnpike’s toll revenue, down from 62 percent in 1994.

What did Ohio think would happen? Perhaps they thought that trucking would again take the financial hit, pay the bill and go on.

They should have thought longer and harder.

On its official Web page, the Ohio Turnpike Commission states: “The trucking industry is a vital part of our nation’s economy and a crucial customer for the Ohio Turnpike. We realize even more so in these tough economic times that trucking companies are looking closely at expenses and trying to cut costs whenever and wherever possible, but we believe that using the Ohio Turnpike is advantageous for a number of reasons. In addition to the many amenities we offer at the service plazas along our road – the Turnpike is a safe and convenient east-west limited access highway. It’s more efficient to travel the Turnpike because it is a direct route with no stop lights – and stop/starts certainly add to vehicle costs and fuel expenses. Additionally, we offer our corporate customers (who exceed twelve hundred dollars ($1,200) in toll charges per year) a Corporate Charge Account Program, and we also offer volume discounts of up to 15% for customers who exceed $1,000 a month in toll charges. Overall, we think you’ll agree that the Ohio Turnpike is a better way to travel.”

It is true that Ohio has made vast improvements in the amenities offered to truckers along the turnpike. All service plazas now have a designated area for truckers to rest and relax. The new plazas offer a lounge area with couches, tables and a set of televisions. All service plazas provide separate restroom and shower facilities for truckers and coin operated clothes washing machines.

As a trucker who regularly runs the east-west corridor through Ohio, I would like nothing better than to use the turnpike and enjoy the amenities and easy traveling, but so long as all my profits plus some are placed in the hands of Ohio’s toll trolls, it just does not make economic sense.

Now in 2003, the Ohio Turnpike Commission is asking “Why did the trucks go?” Ohio Reps. Kathy Walcher, R-Norwalk, and Jeff Wagner, R-Eden Township, are seeking input from local residents on the increased volume of truck traffic on roads such as U.S. 20 and U.S. 30. “There have been a number of complaints recently regarding the increased number of tractor-trailers using our local roads instead of the turnpike,” Walcher said. “The Ohio Turnpike Commission is considering conducting a study on this issue.”

It is official: In an effort to get truck traffic back onto their toll highway, Ohio is conducting a $200,000 study of the matter. Jami Jones, editor of The Trucker, calls paying such a fee when the answer is so plainly obvious, the “Duh Factor.” I call it plain stupid.

What do you suppose will be the conclusions of such a high-priced study? Do you suppose for one minute that Ohio will consider the obvious and lower the tolls? As Jones said in an editorial, “Nope, just not going to happen.” What I, like Jones, expect is Ohio may try lowering the weight limits on all east-west roads except the turnpike in an effort to force the trucks to pay.

In this seeming anti-truck attitude, Ohio is not much different from most other states: They must have and dearly want that which the trucks bring them, but they don’t want the trucks. To a degree, I can understand. I also do not want semis rumbling past my front door 24 hours a day.

So, to Ohio and others I say, if you really want those big trucks off the secondary roads and back on the interstate where they belong, forget the studies and the bureaucratic maneuvering. The solution is as clear as a bright autumn day: tame the troll and lower the tolls.

Guy Bourrie has been hauling on the highways for 20 years. He lives in Washington, Maine, and can be reached at [email protected].