In an April 30 letter that was made public this week, McDonnell asked LaHood to transfer Virginia's authority to toll Interstate 81 under the Interstate System Reconstruction & Rehabilitation Pilot Program to I-95. Virginia received approval in 2003 to add truck tolls to I-81 to construct dedicated truck lanes, but that project has been scrapped. The state now would like to use its toll authority on I-95, the East Coast's main artery. More than 38,000 vehicles per day cross the Virginia/North Carolina border on I-95 in both directions, Virginia estimates.

"Significant portions of Interstate Route 95 have deficient pavements and structures," McDonnell wrote. "These deficiencies contribute to I-95 having one of the highest accident rates of all of the commonwealth's major transportation corridors. The commonwealth intends to use revenues generated through tolling to address a number of safety concerns throughout the corridor, and then make improvements to the pavement conditions and infrastructure. Once these improvements are made, the commonwealth will make capacity-related improvements."

McDonnell notes that over the last two years, the Virginia Department of Transportation has seen budget reductions of $4.6 billion.

"We estimate that tolling on I-95 can generate between $30 and $60 million annually to begin addressing the needs in the Interstate Route 95 corridor, while at the same time freeing up maintenance dollars to be used on other transportation projects throughout the commonwealth," the governor wrote. These estimates are based on car tolls of $2 to $4.

If approved, toll collection would begin in 18 to 24 months.