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If it’s built, the Mid-Currituck Bridge won’t just carry traffic from the North Carolina mainland to the Outer Banks. It will open new avenues for meeting future transportation challenges.

The bridge would be financed, constructed and maintained privately, and paid for by tolls. The N.C. Turnpike Authority signed a predevelopment agreement Wednesday with the Currituck Development Group, which will perform a financial feasibility study before final contracts are signed.

One thing’s already known, N.C. Transportation Secretary Gene Conti said in an interview with News & Record editorial writers Tuesday: The state will never have the money to take on this project, estimated to cost from $600 million to $800 million. Private construction is the only option. It will make financial sense if affluent owners of beach homes at Corolla and other communities along the upper Outer Banks are willing to pay for the convenience of shorter drive times.

The idea that some travelers will pay more for convenience and other benefits is the motivator driving several possible innovations in North Carolina’s transportation future. The Turnpike Authority’s first toll road, the Triangle Expressway, is due to begin construction this year. A few others are on the drawing board, although none in the Triad. These will be technologically savvy highways, with electronic toll collection systems instead of toll booths that slow traffic. They’ll offer alternative routes, leaving the older, more congested roads to motorists who don’t want to pay tolls.

Other advances are possible, Conti said. Interstate 77 in Mecklenburg County already is fitted with High Occupancy Vehicle lanes for cars carrying two or more people. Not only can HOV lanes be added to other highways, but they can be expanded to High Occupancy Toll traffic — meaning a driver could choose to pay for the privilege of using a less-congested lane.

Changes could be in store for tax collections, too. The traditional gas tax provides less revenue as drivers move to more fuel-efficient and alternative-fuel vehicles. That’s a positive social development but bad for highway construction. A future switch to a vehicle mileage tax is likely, although there are early indications of strong public opposition. Certainly, motorists who use less gasoline through efficiency should not pay a tax penalty, but everyone should recognize that a revenue source based on petroleum has a limited future.

Finally, mass transportation projects will require local governments to ante up as Mecklenburg County has done in raising its sales tax to help pay for bus and light-rail systems.

“I think putting money in the game is part of the deal for getting state and federal funding,” Conti said.

It’s only fair. So are other creative ideas for paying for 21st century transportation projects. To a greater extent, users will pay — and they’ll pay a premium for convenience. In an increasingly congested world, that’s the bridge to the future.