The North Carolina Turnpike Authority was created in 2002 to speed the implementation of needed transportation improvements by funding some projects with tolls.

The authority has the power to study, plan, develop and undertake preliminary design work on up to eleven turnpike projects.

Upon end of term, all members of the Authority Board will remain in office until their successors are appointed and qualified.

2006-228) focused the project to the following: The 2006 law also made an exception to the prohibition of converting any segment of the nontolled state highway system to toll by specifically identifying I-540 (under construction in 2006) in Wake and Durham counties and extending from I-40 southwest to North Carolina Highway 55 (NC 55).

2009-343) transferred the functions and funds of the North Carolina Turnpike Authority to NCDOT to conserve expenditures and improve efficiency.

In December 2012, phase three of the Triangle Expressway was opened to traffic; on January 3, 2013, toll collection began on the final section.

Stipulated in the 2013 law, proposed toll road and bridges must go through same process as other transportation projects, have an STIP score and rated with other criteria contained in the Strategic Mobility Formula.

Listed below are proposed projects, currently in review and subject to change: The NC Quick Pass is a pre-paid account used for all electronic toll collection (ETC) facilities in North Carolina.

This is done when a vehicle passes through a toll gantry, where an overhead camera will take a video image of the license plate.

Introduced to speed along the implementation of transportation improvements, many of the projects selected by the Authority were controversial, leading to delays.

Originally planned to be an extension of I-540, the Triangle Expressway garnered criticism from both politicians and residents for tolling the Western Wake Freeway and for the organisers being unable to sell bonds to fund the project.

[51][52] Following its opening, criticism shifted onto its expansion with towns raising issues about its routing and environmental concerns.

[53][54][55][56] Other projects, such as the Garden Parkway and Monroe Connector/Bypass prompted fear of additional urban sprawl, the criticism of politicians who had land deals along the routes, and generated lawsuits stemming from the flawed environmental studies.

In response to the criticism the North Carolina General Assembly removed the Garden Parkway, Cape Fear Skyway and Mid-Currituck Bridge from the authority's purview.

[60][61][62] A more recent contract between the authority and Cintra to build I-77 HOT lanes and operate them for 50 years provoked local groups to hire legal counsel and attempt to have it nullified.