When will you finally get to stop paying the Cross Island toll? Here’s what we know

If you pay the Cross Island Parkway toll on Hilton Head, expect to have more quarters in your pocket beginning July 1, 2021.

That’s the date the S.C. Department of Transportation will make the last payment on the $81-million project, according to Roy Tolson, the department’s director of innovative finance and tolls. The toll booths will be removed, and drivers can expect a quicker trip to the south end of the island.

The tolls were first collected in 1995. Tolson said the department has $8.9 million remaining on the original debt, which it makes in yearly payments of $3.1 million.

If the DOT were only paying off the project debt, the Cross Island Parkway could be nearly paid off using last year’s revenue of $8.3 million according to DOT records. But the department must also pay for the toll collection facilities and staff, which Tolson said costs an additional $3.2 million a year to operate.

On top of the project debt and toll operation costs, Tolson said the department must resurface the Cross Island before removing the toll booths. That work will help ensure the road lasts after it is fully paid off. Tolson said the repair project is estimated to cost $12 million.

In the nearly 25 years since tolls were first collected, the project has hit some financial snags.

Revenue was unexpectedly low in the early 2000s because more drivers obtained a Palmetto Pass — a prepaid pass that drivers use to pay a discounted toll — than originally expected.

After nearly a decade of deficit, the department raised the toll from $1 to $1.25 for two-axle vehicles in 2008.

In 2013, revenue from that higher toll got the project back on track, resulting in a $2.4 million surplus, according to previous Island Packet reporting. Tolson said the department will use that surplus to complete that resurfacing work in 2019.

From the beginning, the Cross Island has seen consistent usage.

In July of 2018, drivers made 845,000 trips across it. Tolson said that is only around 50,000 more trips than in July of 2004.

The Cross Island is a common route for those who work or live on the south end of the island.

Recently, a Change.org petition lobbying for a flat toll fee for locals has gained over 1,000 signatures. The petition argues that “residents, island businesses and workers who choose to use [the parkway]” should only have to pay a flat rate of $50 per year to travel the road.

The petition is addressed to Hilton Head Mayor David Bennett. The state, as opposed to the town, owns the road and makes all decisions affecting it.

Many signers thought the road was already paid off while others said they can spend up to $100 each month to drive the parkway — making the idea of an annual flat fee much more cost-effective.

That type of incentive wouldn’t work, Tolson said.

Ending the toll is solely dependent on paying off the project debt and operating costs, so a decrease in revenue would mean more years of digging out quarters or paying a flat fee.

“You’ve got to have the revenues to pay off the debt,” Tolson said.

Tolson said the current rate of $1.25 per two-axle vehicle is likely to remain in place, even as toll collection winds down.

“Based on our current projections, that [amount] should suffice unless something drastic happens,” Tolson said.

The Cross Island is one of only two toll roads in the state, and Tolson said it’s considered a “destination toll facility.” That means it does not have a high toll violation rate because tourists tend to plan for the toll or even purchase a Palmetto Pass for their visit, he said.

South Carolina’s other toll road, the Southern Connector near Greenville, has increased its toll three times to help cover the costs of the road, according to the Greenville News. That upstate toll road is set to be paid off in 2051.

This story was originally published October 1, 2018 at 1:56 PM.