Tolls announced for new 460 corridor

SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY/AP) - Construction is expected to begin in 2014 on a new $1.4 billion Route 460 from Petersburg to Suffolk, with the road opening in 2018.

Transportation officials announced Wednesday drivers would pay $3.69 for cars or $11.72 for trucks to use the 55-mile road. It comes out to 6.7 cents per mile for cars and 21.3 cents for trucks. Toll rates would increase 3.5 percent per year.

"It will hurt my pocket," truck driver Butch Broadbent said.

Route 460 is Broadbent's usual route and he says he is not looking forward to paying the tolls.

"You have to figure $11 twice a day, that's $22 dollars a day," Broadbent said. "That's over $100 week."

Officials say the new road will make it easier to move freight traffic out of Hampton Roads.

"I'm not for the toll road," Broadbent said. "I'm not going to argue that we can't use a bypass to prevent going through some of these small towns, but to charge us for it?"

Windsor is one of those small towns where Jeff and Marie Jones have lived along Route 460 for almost 40 years. They are looking forward to the new road because of the constant traffic.

"I see just trucks, one behind the other," Jeff Jones said.

The existing Route 460 will remain an alternative route without tolls. The new four-lane, divided highway will have seven interchanges over 55 miles. Officials say it could help the rural, economically depressed region in Southside Virginia.

Funding for the project will come from public and private sources.

You can purchase an E-ZPass here to alleviate costs of daily tolls.