Overview - Tolling I80 fails

The legislative attempt to study tolling along Interstate 80 failed its first test, as the state Senate rejected a bill that supports said would help the state meet its road maintenance and repair needs.

Senate File 6 failed by and 18-11 vote, with one Senator absent. The bill would have needed 20 votes, or two-thirds of the body, to be introduced.

The state is facing immediate infrastructure need. It would have taken nearly a decade to set up a tolling program.

After the bill was passed out of committee, groups came out against the plan during a meeting last August.

The Wyoming Truckers Association and the Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association argued the bill was unfair to those in the transportation industry.

Legislature will have to determine other ways to fund the state's infrastructure needs. An added fuel tax is one option that may be considered.