(a) The department is authorized to develop tollway or toll facility projects and to operate tollways or toll facilities as further provided in this chapter.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 54-3-104

  • Ancillary agreements: means contracts or agreements facilitating the issuance and sale of bonds, including contracts or agreements providing for liquidity and credit enhancement and reimbursement agreements relating to the contracts or agreements providing for liquidity and credit enhancement. See Tennessee Code 54-3-103
  • Bonds: means any bonds, notes, renewal notes, refunding bonds, interim certificates, certificates of indebtedness, debentures, warrants, commercial paper, or other obligations or any other evidence of indebtedness or evidence of borrowed money issued or entered into by or on behalf of the department to finance tollway projects. See Tennessee Code 54-3-103
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of transportation. See Tennessee Code 54-3-103
  • Department: means the state department of transportation. See Tennessee Code 54-3-103
  • Hedging agreements: means interest rate swap or exchange agreements, agreements establishing interest rate floors or ceilings, or both, and other interest rate hedging agreements relating to bonds. See Tennessee Code 54-3-103
  • Highway: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • operation: means any activity associated with the management, operation and maintenance of a completed tollway project, including, but not limited to, collecting tolls. See Tennessee Code 54-3-103
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State tollway fund: means each separate fund established in accordance with §. See Tennessee Code 54-3-103
  • toll facility: means any highway, bridge, tunnel, parking lot or garage, and/or other paved surface or structure designed to carry or contain land transportation vehicles, or any other transportation-related facility, the development or operation of which may be wholly or partially funded or financed with toll revenues. See Tennessee Code 54-3-103
  • toll facility project: means any capital project involving the development or operation of a tollway or toll facility. See Tennessee Code 54-3-103
(b) In order to develop and operate tollways or toll facilities, the department may expend funds from the state tollway fund and the state highway fund, as appropriated by the general assembly, and any funds, grants, or loans received from or made available by the federal government or any other government agency that may be lawfully applied to any tollway or toll facility project.
(c) The commissioner is authorized to set tolls for the use of tollways or toll facilities, subject to any resolutions or indentures authorizing bonds. Upon or prior to the issuance of any bonds, and until such time as the bonds are no longer outstanding under the resolution or indenture providing for the issuance of the bonds, the commissioner shall prescribe and collect, or shall cause to be prescribed and collected, tolls for the use of tollways and toll facilities, and shall revise the tolls from time to time whenever necessary, to produce revenue, together with other moneys that may be available, sufficient to:

(1) Provide for all costs of operation of the tollway project or projects and toll facility project or projects, including reasonable reserves for the costs of operation; and
(2) Pay when due all bonds and interest on the bonds, obligations under hedging agreements and ancillary agreements, and other indebtedness incurred by the state for the payment of which the tolls shall have been pledged, charged or otherwise encumbered, and interest thereon, including reasonable reserves therefor.
(d) The authority to develop and operate tollways or toll facilities and to set tolls as provided in this chapter shall not apply to any highway, bridge or other transportation-related facility constructed prior to June 28, 2007, except that additional lane capacity constructed on or along an existing highway or bridge after June 28, 2007, may be developed and operated as a tollway.
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