Toll Road Revenue Bonds and Infrastructure Finance

Toll Road Revenue Bonds and Infrastructure Finance

A Comprehensive Guide to U.S. Toll Road Debt Financing

Bond Structures, Credit Analysis, and Market Trends

Prepared by DWU AI

An AI Product of DWU Consulting LLC

February 2026

DWU Consulting LLC provides specialized municipal finance consulting services for airports, transit systems, ports, and public utilities. Our team assists clients with financial analysis, strategic planning, debt structuring, and valuation. Please visit https://dwuconsulting.com for more information.

Changelog

2026-02-23 — Initial publication. Comprehensive toll road revenue bond guide covering market overview, bond structures, credit analysis, major issuers, electronic tolling, managed lanes, and emerging risks.

Introduction

Toll road revenue bonds represent one of the largest and most established segments of the U.S. municipal bond market. Backed by the revenues generated from tolled highway facilities, these bonds finance the construction, expansion, and rehabilitation of critical transportation infrastructure across the country. Unlike general obligation bonds supported by taxing power, toll road revenue bonds depend on the willingness and ability of motorists to pay for the use of specific roadways—creating a user-fee model that has attracted both public agencies and private investors for decades.

The U.S. toll road network encompasses approximately 6,000 miles of roadway across 37 states, operated by more than 130 tolling agencies. Annual toll revenues reached an estimated $7.4 billion in 2025, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of roughly 8.4% over the preceding five years. The sector supports tens of billions of dollars in outstanding revenue bonds, with the largest issuers—the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, and others—each carrying multi-billion-dollar debt portfolios.

This guide provides a comprehensive overview of U.S. toll road revenue bond structures, credit analysis frameworks, major issuers, and emerging trends relevant to municipal bond investors, credit analysts, and infrastructure finance professionals.

Market Overview

The U.S. toll road market has evolved substantially over the past two decades. What was once a sector dominated by legacy Northeast turnpike authorities has expanded into a national network that includes modern expressways in Texas and Florida, managed lanes in Virginia and Georgia, and inland toll bridges across the Midwest and South.

Several key metrics define the current market. The national toll road network comprises roughly 489 toll facilities spanning approximately 6,000 miles. Electronic toll collection now accounts for approximately 75% of total collections, or about $6 billion annually, with the remainder split between video tolling (license plate billing) and a shrinking number of cash collection points. Network expansion of more than 1,200 additional miles is projected by 2030, driven largely by managed lane projects in the Southeast and Texas.

From a capital markets perspective, toll road bond issuance reached approximately $8 billion in the first half of 2024 alone—roughly triple the $2.5 billion recorded in the same period of 2023. This surge reflects a combination of new-money issuance for capital programs, opportunistic refundings, and landmark public-private partnership financings. The sector’s appeal to investors lies in its essential-service revenue stream, demonstrated price inelasticity, and the structural protections embedded in bond indentures.

Bond Structures and Security

Toll road revenue bonds employ well-established security structures that have been refined over decades of market practice. Understanding these structures is essential for evaluating credit quality and assessing bondholder protections.

Senior and Subordinate Lien Architecture

Most large toll road issuers maintain a multi-tiered debt structure with distinct lien priorities. Senior lien revenue bonds hold the first claim on toll revenues and pledged reserves, while subordinate (or junior) lien bonds are payable only after senior obligations have been fully satisfied. This tiered approach allows issuers to access different investor bases and optimize their cost of capital, while providing meaningful structural protection to senior bondholders.

The rating differential between senior and subordinate liens typically ranges from one to three notches. For example, the North Texas Tollway Authority maintains a three-tier structure: approximately $5.7 billion in first-tier bonds rated Aa3 by Moody’s, $2.6 billion in second-tier bonds rated A1, and a smaller third tier rated A3. This granularity allows the authority to match debt costs with the risk appetite of different investor segments.

Revenue Pledge and Flow of Funds

Toll road bonds are typically secured by a gross revenue pledge—meaning all toll revenues are pledged to bondholders before operating expenses are deducted. The flow of funds waterfall governs how revenues are distributed among competing claims. A typical waterfall follows this priority: first, deposit of all revenues into a revenue fund; second, payment of operating and administrative expenses; third, senior lien debt service (principal and interest); fourth, replenishment of the debt service reserve fund if it has been drawn upon; fifth, subordinate lien debt service; sixth, contributions to capital improvement and renewal and replacement reserves; and finally, transfer of any remaining surplus to equity or general accounts.

Rate Covenants

Rate covenants require the toll authority to maintain toll rates sufficient to generate revenues that meet a specified debt service coverage ratio—typically 1.25x to 1.30x for senior lien bonds. If revenues fall below the covenant threshold, the authority is obligated to take corrective action, which may include increasing toll rates, reducing operating expenses, or engaging a traffic consultant to recommend remedial measures. The rate covenant provides an important backstop for bondholders, as it creates a contractual obligation to adjust pricing in response to revenue shortfalls.

Debt Service Reserve Funds

Most toll road bond indentures require the establishment and maintenance of a debt service reserve fund, typically funded at the lesser of maximum annual debt service, 125% of average annual debt service, or 10% of par. The reserve fund provides a liquidity cushion that can be drawn upon if toll revenues are temporarily insufficient to meet debt service payments. Some issuers satisfy the reserve requirement through surety bonds or letters of credit rather than cash funding.

Additional Bonds Tests

The additional bonds test (ABT) establishes the conditions under which an issuer may incur new debt on parity with existing bonds. Common ABT requirements include demonstrating that historical or projected revenues will cover all outstanding and proposed debt service at a specified coverage level—often 1.20x for senior lien bonds. The ABT protects existing bondholders from dilution of their security interest through excessive additional borrowing.

Credit Analysis Framework

Credit rating agencies employ structured analytical frameworks to evaluate toll road revenue bonds. While each agency uses its own methodology, four common dimensions drive rating outcomes: traffic and revenue risk, financial performance, debt structure, and governance.

Traffic and Revenue Risk

The fundamental credit risk for toll road bonds is the uncertainty inherent in traffic demand and revenue generation. Rating agencies evaluate the economic and demographic characteristics of the service area, the availability and quality of competing free routes, historical traffic trends and volatility, and the degree to which the toll facility functions as an essential transportation link.

Facilities that serve as the primary route between major population and employment centers—with limited free alternatives—receive the most favorable assessments. The New Jersey Turnpike, for example, benefits from its position as the dominant north-south corridor through one of the most densely populated regions in the country. Conversely, stand-alone facilities with readily available free alternatives face greater demand uncertainty and typically receive lower ratings.

Price elasticity is a critical variable. Empirical studies of U.S. toll roads find elasticity coefficients ranging from approximately -0.21 (highly inelastic) to -0.83 (moderately elastic), depending on the availability of alternatives, the length of the tolled segment, and the time horizon considered. Several toll road operators have demonstrated that moderate toll increases (in the range of 3–5% annually) can be implemented with minimal traffic loss, a finding that has supported recent rating upgrades across the sector.

Financial Performance Metrics

The debt service coverage ratio is the single most important quantitative metric in toll road credit analysis. For mature, demand-risk toll roads, rating agencies generally expect DSCR in the range of 1.50x to 2.00x for investment-grade ratings. Higher-risk greenfield projects may require coverage of 2.00x to 2.50x or more. Availability-based toll concessions—where the operator receives fixed payments regardless of traffic—can operate at lower DSCR thresholds of 1.10x to 1.25x because demand risk has been transferred to the public sector.

Days cash on hand provides a measure of liquidity resilience. Strong toll road operators maintain 225 to 275 or more days of unrestricted cash reserves relative to operating expenses. The Harris County Toll Road Authority, for example, reported approximately 1,594 days of cash on hand as of its most recent fiscal year—an exceptionally strong position that reflects years of cumulative surplus generation.

Leverage ratios—measured as outstanding debt relative to annual revenues or net assets—are also closely monitored. Declining leverage is consistently cited as a driver of rating upgrades, while rapid debt accumulation (particularly for capital expansion programs) may pressure ratings.

Rating Agency Methodologies

Moody’s evaluates publicly owned toll facilities using a scorecard that emphasizes the debt service safety margin (the percentage by which net revenues exceed debt service requirements), operating margins, reserve adequacy, and leverage. For Aa-rated facilities, Moody’s typically expects a debt service safety margin of 20% or greater. For privately managed toll roads, Moody’s applies its infrastructure project finance methodology, incorporating cash interest coverage, funds from operations to debt, DSCR, and concession life coverage ratios.

S&P Global combines business risk and financial risk assessments to determine an anchor rating. Business risk encompasses industry risk (transportation infrastructure is classified as low risk), country risk, and competitive position. Financial risk focuses on cash flow adequacy, leverage, and liquidity. S&P notes that large network operators with regional monopoly characteristics tend to achieve ratings in the AA to A range, while smaller or stand-alone facilities are more commonly rated in the BBB category.

Fitch evaluates toll roads across six key rating drivers: completion risk (for projects under construction), revenue risk related to traffic volume, revenue risk related to pricing flexibility, infrastructure development and renewal requirements, debt structure, and overall financial profile. Fitch uses net debt to cash flow available for debt service as its primary leverage metric and has published specific leverage guidelines calibrated to remaining asset life.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) applies stress-scenario analysis to toll road credits, evaluating whether debt service coverage can be maintained under conservative assumptions including zero traffic growth, elevated operating costs, and below-trend inflation. KBRA has been active in rating Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission bonds, most recently assigning AA- to the Commission’s Series A of 2026 bonds.

Major U.S. Toll Road Issuers

The U.S. toll road sector is characterized by significant concentration, with a handful of large issuers accounting for the majority of outstanding debt. The following profiles highlight the largest and most prominent toll road bond issuers.

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission operates more than 565 miles of tolled highway and carries approximately $16 billion in outstanding debt—making it the largest toll road debtor in the United States. The Commission’s debt burden reflects not only its own capital needs but also obligations arising from Act 44 of 2007, which required the Commission to transfer more than $8 billion in payments to PennDOT for non-turnpike transportation purposes over a multi-decade period. Annual toll revenues of approximately $1.6 billion and a senior lien DSCR of 2.43x support KBRA ratings of AA- (senior) and A+ (subordinate).

New Jersey Turnpike Authority

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority operates the 148-mile New Jersey Turnpike and the 173-mile Garden State Parkway, two of the most heavily traveled toll facilities in the nation. The Authority generates approximately $1.68 billion in annual toll revenues from roughly 747 million vehicle transactions. Outstanding debt totals approximately $12 billion, with ratings of A from Fitch and A2 from Moody’s. The Authority’s 2024–2028 capital improvement program totals $4.5 billion.

Illinois State Toll Highway Authority

The Illinois Tollway operates 294 miles of roadway in the greater Chicago metropolitan area, generating approximately $1.4 billion in annual toll revenues. Outstanding debt totals roughly $7 billion, rated Aa3 by Moody’s, AA- by S&P, and AA- by Fitch. The Authority’s “Move Illinois” and subsequent capital programs have invested heavily in system modernization, while generating an annual operating surplus of nearly $500 million.

Florida Turnpike Enterprise

The Florida Turnpike Enterprise, a division of the Florida Department of Transportation, operates 515 miles of tolled roadway throughout central and south Florida. Annual toll revenues of approximately $1.35 billion support ratings of AA from Fitch, Aa2 from Moody’s, and AA from S&P—all with stable outlooks. Outstanding debt totals roughly $3.9 billion. The Turnpike benefits from Florida’s strong population growth trends and the absence of a state income tax, which supports continued economic expansion and traffic demand.

North Texas Tollway Authority

The North Texas Tollway Authority operates more than 1,000 lane-miles of tolled roadway in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States. Annual toll revenues of approximately $1.19 billion support a three-tiered debt structure totaling $8.52 billion. Moody’s rates the first tier Aa3, the second tier A1, and the third tier A3, reflecting the progressive subordination of each tranche.

Harris County Toll Road Authority

HCTRA operates 128 miles of toll roads in the Houston metropolitan area and generates approximately $896 million in annual toll revenues. The Authority holds the distinction of being the highest-rated toll road in Texas, with a Moody’s rating of Aa1 and an S&P rating of AA. Outstanding debt of approximately $2.8 billion is supported by an exceptionally strong financial position: 1,594 days of cash on hand and cumulative surplus transfers to Harris County exceeding $4.5 billion since 2011.

Other Notable Issuers

Several other toll road authorities maintain significant market presence. The Central Florida Expressway Authority operates 125 miles of roadway with $705 million in annual toll revenues and a recent Moody’s upgrade to Aa3. The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority operates more than 600 miles across 11 turnpikes with $410 million in annual toll revenues, though its proposed ACCESS Oklahoma expansion program could substantially increase system debt. The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, while smaller at 48.7 miles and $176 million in toll revenues, has received multiple rating upgrades in recognition of strong DSCR performance and improving leverage.

Electronic Tolling and Technology

The transition to all-electronic tolling represents one of the most significant operational and financial transformations in the toll road sector’s history. Electronic toll collection now accounts for approximately 75% of all toll revenues nationwide, and the trend toward fully cashless operations is accelerating.

The Kansas Turnpike Authority completed a system-wide conversion to cashless tolling on July 1, 2024, ending 68 years of manual toll collection in a single overnight transition. The conversion implemented TransCore’s Infinity roadside tolling technology and introduced a new payment platform called DriveKS that combines transponder and license plate billing. The benefits include elimination of vehicle slowdowns at toll plazas, enhanced safety, improved customer convenience, and reduced operating costs associated with cash handling and toll booth staffing.

Regional interoperability remains a work in progress. The E-ZPass network provides transponder compatibility across more than 20 states, predominantly in the Northeast and Midwest. Florida’s SunPass PRO extends compatibility to E-ZPass states plus Kansas and Oklahoma. Texas toll systems (TxTag, HCTRA EZ TAG) have historically operated independently, though interoperability agreements have expanded in recent years—including a June 2024 agreement making TxTag compatible with Colorado’s ExpressToll system. However, California’s FasTrak, Kansas’s K-TAG, and several other regional systems remain largely isolated, and there is no federal mandate for a unified national transponder standard.

The financial implications of electronic tolling are substantial. Cashless operations reduce violation rates and non-collection losses, eliminate toll booth labor costs, and enable dynamic pricing on managed lane facilities. For credit analysts, the transition to electronic tolling generally strengthens the financial profile of toll road operators by reducing operating expense ratios and improving revenue capture efficiency.

Managed Lanes and Public-Private Partnerships

Managed lanes—including express toll lanes and high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes—represent the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. toll road market. Unlike conventional toll roads that charge a fixed toll to all users, managed lanes employ dynamic pricing that adjusts in real time based on traffic density, maintaining free-flow conditions (typically 45 miles per hour or faster) in the tolled lanes.

The Georgia SR 400 Express Lanes project, which reached financial close in 2024, exemplifies the scale and ambition of the current managed lane pipeline. The project involves 16 miles of express toll lanes on State Route 400 in metropolitan Atlanta, delivered under a 55-year design-build-finance-operate-maintain (DBFOM) concession. The financing broke multiple records: $3.5 billion in private activity bonds (the largest tax-exempt PAB issuance ever for a toll road) and a $4.0 billion TIFIA loan (the largest single TIFIA loan in history). The total project cost of approximately $4.6 billion reflects both the physical scope and the financial complexity of modern managed lane development.

From a credit perspective, managed lanes present a distinct risk profile compared to conventional toll roads. Because managed lanes operate at or near the revenue-maximizing price point to maintain free-flow conditions, their revenues tend to be more volatile than those of conventional toll facilities. Rating agencies generally apply a rating discount to managed lane facilities, with stand-alone managed lane projects typically rated in the BBB category or below. Mature managed lane networks operated by experienced concessionaires may achieve higher ratings, but the inherent price elasticity of dynamic tolling creates revenue uncertainty that constrains rating outcomes.

Transurban, the Australian infrastructure company, has emerged as the dominant private operator in the U.S. managed lane market, operating a 65-mile express lane network in Virginia along with facilities in Florida and other states. The Transurban model emphasizes consistent operational standards, technology investment, and dynamic pricing optimization. Additional P3 managed lane projects are in various stages of development in Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Illinois.

Traffic Recovery and Post-Pandemic Trends

The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented disruption to toll road traffic and revenues in 2020, with many facilities experiencing traffic declines of 30–50% during lockdown periods. However, the sector’s recovery has been remarkably strong. By 2024, most major U.S. toll facilities had recovered to or exceeded pre-pandemic traffic volumes, supported by several favorable structural trends.

Freight traffic recovered particularly quickly and now exceeds pre-pandemic baselines on most toll road systems, driven by the sustained growth of e-commerce and logistics demand. Passenger vehicle traffic has also recovered broadly, though the composition of demand has shifted: peak-hour commute traffic remains somewhat below pre-pandemic levels due to the persistence of remote and hybrid work arrangements, while midday and weekend traffic has increased, resulting in a flatter daily demand curve.

The return-to-office trend has provided additional support for toll road traffic. Data from INRIX indicates that remote work declined approximately 8% nationally in 2024, with particularly sharp declines in technology-heavy metropolitan areas. Nine of the ten largest U.S. metropolitan areas saw increased trips to downtown areas, with Houston recording a 25% increase. Nationally, U.S. drivers lost an average of 43 hours to congestion in 2024—equivalent to roughly one work week—suggesting that traffic volumes have not merely recovered but in many corridors have exceeded historical levels.

Rating agencies have noted that toll revenue growth has outpaced traffic growth in 2024–2025, as toll rate increases compound on top of recovered volumes. This combination of volume recovery and pricing power has been a key driver of the sector-wide rating upgrades observed over the past 18 months.

Emerging Risks and Considerations

While the near-term credit outlook for U.S. toll roads is broadly positive, several longer-term risks warrant attention from bond investors and credit analysts.

Autonomous Vehicles

The eventual deployment of autonomous vehicles at scale could alter the demand dynamics for toll roads. If autonomous technology reduces the perceived “cost” of travel time by allowing occupants to work or rest while in transit, the premium that motorists are willing to pay for faster toll road travel may diminish. This is particularly relevant for managed lanes, where the value proposition is explicitly tied to time savings. Additionally, mixed traffic environments (combining autonomous and human-driven vehicles) create operational complexity for dynamic pricing systems. While widespread autonomous vehicle adoption remains years away, rating agencies have begun incorporating this risk factor into their long-term assessments.

Remote Work and Commute Patterns

Despite the return-to-office trend observed in 2024, remote work levels remain elevated at roughly 163% of pre-pandemic baselines. If remote work stabilizes at current levels or expands further, peak-period commute traffic on toll roads may face a structural ceiling. However, the toll road sector has demonstrated resilience to this shift, as lost commute traffic has been partially offset by growth in freight, leisure, and midday travel.

Traffic and Revenue Forecast Risk

Academic and industry research has documented a persistent optimism bias in traffic and revenue forecasts for toll road projects. Studies have found that actual traffic in the first five years of operation frequently falls 20–30% below initial forecasts. This risk is most acute for greenfield projects with no operating history, which is one reason rating agencies generally cap greenfield toll road ratings at the BBB category absent exceptional credit features. For existing facilities with demonstrated traffic histories, forecast risk is substantially lower.

Deferred Maintenance and Capital Needs

Many of the nation’s oldest toll roads face significant deferred maintenance and rehabilitation requirements. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s $4.5 billion capital program, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission’s ongoing system renewal efforts, and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority’s proposed ACCESS Oklahoma expansion (which could increase system debt from approximately $3 billion to more than $10 billion) all illustrate the tension between maintaining aging infrastructure and managing debt burdens. Investors should evaluate whether capital programs are funded from existing cash flows or require additional debt issuance that could dilute bondholder security.

Key Metrics for Toll Road Bond Analysis

Municipal bond professionals evaluating toll road credits should focus on several quantitative and qualitative indicators. On the quantitative side, the debt service coverage ratio is paramount: mature demand-risk toll roads should demonstrate DSCR in the 1.50x to 2.00x range, with higher coverage expected for greenfield or stand-alone facilities. Days cash on hand of 225 or more provides confidence in short-term liquidity. The debt-to-revenue ratio indicates long-term leverage sustainability, with strong issuers typically maintaining ratios below 5.0x. Traffic growth trends (both volume and revenue per transaction) reveal whether demand fundamentals are strengthening or weakening.

On the qualitative side, the key considerations include the essentiality of the toll facility (is it the only viable route?), the rate-setting authority and political constraints on toll increases, the quality and track record of management, the adequacy of the capital improvement program, and the strength of the legal framework governing bondholder rights. The additional bonds test and rate covenant provisions are particularly important structural protections that vary meaningfully across issuers.

Conclusion

U.S. toll road revenue bonds occupy a well-established and creditworthy position within the municipal bond market. The sector benefits from essential-service demand, demonstrated pricing power, and structural bondholder protections that have been tested and refined over decades. The post-pandemic period has confirmed the resilience of toll road traffic and revenues, with most major systems exceeding pre-pandemic performance levels and earning rating upgrades in the process.

At the same time, the sector is evolving. The growth of managed lanes and public-private partnerships is introducing new financing structures and risk profiles. The transition to all-electronic tolling is transforming operations and improving financial efficiency. And longer-term uncertainties—including autonomous vehicles, remote work trends, and aging infrastructure—require ongoing monitoring.

For municipal bond investors, toll road revenue bonds offer an attractive combination of credit quality, yield, and sector diversification. The analytical frameworks applied by rating agencies provide a robust toolkit for evaluating individual credits, while the sector’s strong recent performance and favorable near-term outlook support continued investor interest.

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