A toll revenue bond is a financial promissory note

Promissory note

A promissory note is a negotiable instrument, wherein one party makes an unconditional promise in writing to pay a determinate sum of money to the other , either at a fixed or determinable future time or on demand of the payee, under specific terms.Referred to as a note payable in accounting, or...

 usually issued to generate funds for the construction and/or operation of a public accommodation such as an expressway

Controlled-access highway

A controlled-access highway is a highway designed exclusively for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow and ingress/egress regulated...

, bridge

Bridge

A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...

, or tunnel

Tunnel

A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...

. Funds for the repayment are obtained through revenue

Revenue

In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....

 raised through collection of tolls from users as a fare

Fare

A fare is the fee paid by a passenger allowing him or her to make use of a public transport system: rail, bus, taxi, etc. In the case of air transport, the term airfare is often used.-Uses:...

 for passage.

Toll revenue bonds are more speculative than "general obligation" bonds, which are backed (or guaranteed) by tax revenues of a state or local government. Such bonds may be subject to default

Default (finance)

In finance, default occurs when a debtor has not met his or her legal obligations according to the debt contract, e.g. has not made a scheduled payment, or has violated a loan covenant of the debt contract. A default is the failure to pay back a loan. Default may occur if the debtor is either...

 if toll revenues are insufficient to meet scheduled payments, although such defaults are rare. One example is the 23-mile long Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel

Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is a long fixed link crossing the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and connecting the Delmarva Peninsula's Eastern Shore of Virginia with Virginia Beach and the metropolitan area of Hampton Roads, Virginia...

 (CBBT) in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, one of the more ambitious such projects which was built in the mid-1960s. The facility was subject to increased construction costs due to weather, and disruption due to accidents caused by shipping traffic striking its bridges. The CBBT was in default of its toll revenue bonds for several years shortly after its completion, but these were repaid as traffic volume increased. Additional bridges were constructed later to reduce the likelihood of future disruption of revenue due to accidents.

See article List of toll roads for facilities financed by toll revenue bonds.