Could tolls be down the road for Nebraska? A new study says they could be an answer for the state’s roads funding shortfall.

The Platte Institute for Economic Research, a fiscally conservative thinktank based in Omaha, released a study last week calling for Nebraska officials to look at public-private partnerships  (read: toll roads) to help the state get through its funding crunch for roads.

In a public-private roads partnership, private risk capital is typically invested to design, build or maintain a road for a specific time period, and the private entity charges tolls on the road to recoup the cost, according to the study. After the contract expires, the state government can usually get the road back at no cost.

The study is authored by Shirley Ibarra and Leonard Gilroy, two analysts at the Reason Foundation, another California-based thinktank that advocates free markets. It goes into lots more detail about how these partnerships might work, but essentially it argues that these partnerships could jump-start several state roads projects that are stalled because of a lack of funding, like the $175 million Lincoln South Beltway project and the Highway 34/75 Missouri River crossing.

So will the Legislature give the idea a look?

The Legislature’s Transportation and Telecommunications Committee has its own report on highway funding due out this week. State Sen. Deb Fischer of Valentine, the committee’s chair, told the Lincoln Journal Star the report won’t include much on public-private partnerships, but she’d be interested to see if any private groups are keen on building roads in the state.

Another senator, Tim Gay of Papillion, told the Omaha World-Herald he’s skeptical about toll roads in a low-population state like Nebraska, but he’s interested in some of the study’s other ideas, like privatizing maintenance work.

In a blog post today, state Sen. Colby Coash of Lincoln called the partnerships “an interesting alternative” and asked his constituents what they thought.

This issue has a lot of hurdles to clear — logistical, procedural and attitudinal — in order to become a reality in this state. But with roads funding in a critical shortage, state senators sound open to anything. This could be an issue to watch long-term.