PORTSMOUTH, Va. (AP) — The state’s plan to impose tolls at two existing tunnels to help pay for a new tunnel connecting Norfolk and Portsmouth is being challenged in court.
Media outlets report that a Portsmouth-based group filed a lawsuit Thursday claiming the tolls are taxes because the existing Downtown and Midtown tunnels’ construction costs have been paid off.
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The lawsuit says the defendants, the Virginia Department of Transportation and Elizabeth River Crossings, don’t have the authority to impose taxes.
Elizabeth River Crossings won a multi-billion dollar contract to build the new tunnel, renovate the Downtown Tunnel and expand the Martin Luther King expressway in Portsmouth. The consortium will collect tolls, and manage and maintain the facilities for 58 years.
Transportation Commissioner Greg Whirley says the project was developed in accordance with law.
