There is never enough money for these greedy, trough-feeding pigs!
Pennsylvania has the second highest fuel taxes in the nation but still cannot maintain or expand its infrastructure that has fallen behind population changes.
We keep hearing promises and see no results.
I also understand the pennsyvania turnpike is the most expensive road to drive on in the world. Crazy!
1. The state has one of the oldest highway systems in the nation.
2. PennDOT has jurisdiction over something like 40,000 miles of roadway. This is a much bigger system than what you'll find even in larger states. A big reason for this is that PennDOT is responsible for many secondary roads that would be the responsibility of county or local governments in other states.
3. The state is very rural, which means many state roads are not heavily traveled but still have maintenance needs. If you had to design Pennsylvania all over again you'd probably eliminate about half the roads and bridges between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
4. They're on the wrong side of the revenue curve for fuel taxes (i.e., fuel tax hikes will actually generate LESS revenue), and the maintenance needs outlined above are enormous.
Item #4 is what's driving the preference for tolls in Pennsylvania. The state has to accommodate a lot of through traffic destined for major metro areas like New York, Boston and Washington, and these travelers simply don't generate enough tax revenue (to the extend they generate any at all) to cover the cost of their travel in Pennsylvania.
Between the payroll for thousands of internet porn surfers and payouts to the mob there isn’t much left to actually fix roads.