Only 6,300 of America's 160,000 highway miles are tolled, but that number may grow rapidly. The federal petrol tax has not been raised since 1993, creating a giant deficit in highway funding—$27bn in fiscal 2024. Tolls are presented as a fairer funding mechanism, especially for out-of-state drivers.
Chicago's Skyway, an elevated highway built in the 1950s, was called a "bridge" to circumvent federal rules that barred toll-financed roads from receiving federal funding. In 2025 Indiana's governor Mike Braun signed a law allowing tolls on all existing interstate highways—no state had previously attempted anything so sweeping.
Express toll lanes with variable pricing have been expanding since California's Route 91 pioneered the concept. Most tolling projects have bipartisan support, though some populist Republicans have pushed to buy back toll roads and make them free. Donald Trump attempted to shut down New York City's congestion-pricing scheme.
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